


Under the Sun

by Stariceling



Category: Tantei Gakuen Q | Detective Academy Q
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-01
Updated: 2010-06-20
Packaged: 2017-12-06 00:12:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 51,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/729468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stariceling/pseuds/Stariceling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something about a new case has really gotten to Ryu. Against his friend's wishes, Kyu starts looking for answers and finds more than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [slr2moons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slr2moons/gifts).



> Written for my good friend slr2moons when she was very disappointed by the end of a certain books series. I don't know how well it helped, but here it is! This is a supernatural-themed AU. This comes sometime after the Hell's Maestro arc, so it will have Ryu spoilers. There will also eventually be Kyu x Ryu romance. Other pairings may be hinted at, but won't be given much screen time.
> 
> And because slr2moons is the best ever, she also helped with betaing this, even thought it was meant to be her present!
> 
> Updated and edited 2012.

It started with the call. Kyu had been the one to grab the phone out of Ryu's bag when it started ringing, unreasonably offended that Ryu had a cell and had never given the number to his classmates. Only it wasn't Ryu's phone, and it couldn't have been farther from a social call.

It was a challenge, a taunt from an unrecognizable voice, to track the caller down before he committed murder. The riddle he gave was so obvious that Kyu was hard pressed to remember the wording later, only the street number and the room number that it had led them to. There was no time limit given, no indication when they arrived if they were in time to save a life.

No matter how quickly they had tracked down the location, they were much too late. Kinta burst in first, expecting a fight, but there was no one living in the hotel room that they had been led to.

They found only the body of a young man in a crumpled suit suspended upside down from the ceiling. His collar had been unbuttoned, and his tie removed to serve as a blindfold. Blood marked trails from his chin to his temples, and into his hair, though his tie only had faint traces on it. His throat had been slashed open from ear to ear, cut so severely that his head was all but hanging off.

A message in garish red was splashed on the wall behind the corpse, 'Go home.'

Kinta rushed first to the window to check the fire escape for some sign that they had caught the perpetrator heading out, while Ryu stopped so suddenly at the sight that Kyu ran into his back. It wasn't a completely unfamiliar reaction. Megu had done the same thing, only she had taken herself half a step out of the way first. Her wide eyes were darting around the room with a familiar look of horror and determination. Her fingers were braced on Kazuma's shoulder, as if he might need to be held back from disturbing the scene. Kazuma didn't comment or pull away in offense as he might have a few months ago. He just stayed half-hidden behind his computer.

For the first minute the scene was too much input for him to even notice how still Ryu had gone. It wasn't until Ryu turned and stepped around Kyu to get back out of the room that Kyu's attention turned to the fact that something was wrong. He couldn't have said if he heard it or merely sensed it, but he knew Ryu's steps were unsteady.

Confusion caught Kyu's detective instincts, and he unthinkingly followed Ryu out into the hall, to find his friend all but leaning against the wall for support a few steps away. His whole body was visibly tense, and he had his face hidden in his hands, so that Kyu thought he might have been trying to avoid crying, or being sick.

The sight of Ryu, normally so calm and collected, looking on the verge of some sort of breakdown, was more terrifying than the corpse hanging from the ceiling. Kyu hesitated in the doorway, warring between the desire to try and comfort Ryu somehow and the idea that he should give his friend some privacy.

Before Kyu could make a move either way, Ryu became suddenly and inexplicably aware of his presence, his head snapping up and around to stare at Kyu. He didn't look tearful or nauseated, and Kyu couldn't quite place the expression on Ryu's face at first, only the fact that it didn't seem like it belonged there.

"Are you okay?" Privacy wasn't an option, now that Ryu knew he was here. Kyu approached him with the vague intention of putting an arm around Ryu's shoulders or something.

"I'll go show the police where we are," Ryu said quickly, backing away before Kyu could touch him. Not until he said that was Kyu aware of the sound of sirens wailing nearby. He knew that Kazuma had been on the phone with the police the whole time they were narrowing down the area to this street, this hotel, and finally the room. Finding out that they were too late had taken his attention off of that fact.

Kyu thought it was better to let Ryu be doing something, but he still watched Ryu turn and all but run down the hall, not taking his eyes off of that retreating back until Ryu had disappeared into the stairwell. He knew by now that Ryu rarely, if ever, offered information about himself, and he didn't think that would change any time soon, but he still wished that he could know what had shaken Ryu up so badly.

Once Ryu was out of sight, Kyu turned back to the scene in the hotel room. There were so many strange details to the scene, even his concern for Ryu couldn't successfully compete for his attention once Ryu wasn't directly in front of him.

First of all, there wasn't a single drop of blood on the floor. The room looked practically sterile, apart from the body and the message. It almost suggested that the man had been killed elsewhere, then hung here only to taunt them. Yet the blood on his face wasn't completely dry. The police coroner, once they had gotten the body down for him to examine, gave the estimate that the man had been killed less than thirty minutes ago, during or directly after the phone call.

The cause of death appeared to be exsanguination, yet there was not a drop of blood in the room. Even the message on the wall was obviously paint. And yet there didn't seem to have been time to drain the blood elsewhere and move the body.

The chains the body hung from had been installed by whomever had rented the hotel room that night. At least two people, it seemed. A man had checked in, but a woman had checked out. Neither had spoken a word. The man had worn a mask over his nose and mouth, and communicated via a chalk tablet that hung around his neck, so that the clerk had thought him ill or mute. The woman had only made noises of impatience and clicked her nails on the counter.

That was about as far as they got in examining the evidence before Hongou-sensei arrived. Not just him, but Nanami-sensei, two teachers Kyu recognized from lectures they had given at DDS, and one woman he wasn't sure he'd ever seen before. Having such an impressive show of backup wasn't nearly as startling as when Hongou-sensei put one hand on Kinta's shoulder and the other on Kyu's and announced that they were leaving the crime scene immediately.

Kyu tried to dig in his heels and protest, and found himself practically dragged out of the room and down the hall. Outside, Megu was describing something to Nanami-sensei in the wealth of detail only she could provide. Ryu seemed to be giving out similar information to a man who Kyu eventually recognized as one of their guest lecturers. Tanaka-sensei, who had a face as forgettable as his name.

"What are you doing, we're in the middle of a case!" Kyu protested, his face craned around to see the other two 'interlopers' going in to examine the hotel room.

"No, _they_ are in the middle of a case. This is not your assignment."

Kyu looked around for support, sure his classmates had to be as shocked as he was at that. He caught the expression on Kazuma's face, the one practically saying, ' _bad_ idea, don't do that,' and knew from that warning look Kinta was about to lose his temper, about half a second before he did.

"What do you mean, not our assignment! Someone was killed in there, and now you're saying we need permission to do our jobs and catch the criminal!"

"Lower your voice, Tooyama-kun," Hongou-sensei ground out between clenched teeth.

Kyu took advantage of the sudden outburst to squirm out of his sensei's grip. He didn't want to be between the two of them if they finally came to blows.

They probably would have, or something close to it, if Nanami-sensei hadn't intervened. He stepped up between the two of them, giving each a hearty slap on the back to distract them, and turning a frighteningly disarming grin on the whole class.

"You kids should know how it is when you're dealing with serial killers. It's much better to have the same team continue investigating each case." And that sounded to Kyu like as much of an explanation as they were going to get. Convenient. It didn't matter that they were first on the scene if the case had already been 'claimed' by someone else who presumably had more information, and more experience, on their side.

Kyu didn't like it, but he also recognized that arguing the point wouldn't get them back in on the scene. He looked over to where Tanaka-sensei was still questioning Ryu. Neither of them seemed to have noticed Kinta's outburst.

Ryu had gone tense again. His shoulders were hunched slightly together, his arms tight at his sides. Kyu was surprised that Tanaka-sensei didn't even seem to notice, that he seemed more intent on trying to quiz Ryu about the message on the wall, about the angle of the words, and the size of the letters in relation to each other. He could go and look at the wall himself, they would let him in! More than his irrational irritation, Kyu felt suddenly protective of his friend.

Without a second thought, Kyu stepped up and grabbed Ryu by the hand, effectively grabbing his attention. He tried to give Ryu an encouraging smile.

"Come on," Kyu insisted, tugging determinedly on Ryu's arm. "Let's go."

Tanaka-sensei took off his glasses and polished them with his handkerchief, looking vaguely at Kyu as he did so. Ryu seemed rooted on the spot, no matter how Kyu pulled at his hand. Kyu discovered there was no way he could surreptitiously shift Ryu, not if Ryu didn't want to budge.

It wasn't until Tanaka-sensei put his glasses back on and gave Ryu a brief, "Thank you, Amakusa-kun," that Ryu allowed himself to be pulled away. Kyu looked back over his shoulder at Tanaka-sensei, his curiosity about the entire exchange practically eating him alive, and found the older man still watching Ryu's back.

Kyu put one arm protectively around Ryu as they left. He wasn't sure what he was trying to do, only that he needed to do something. Ryu made no move to shrug him off, but remained tense under Kyu's arm. Kyu gave him a half-hug once they were out of the building, then let Ryu go. He let his hand brush Ryu's almost carelessly as he brought his arm down, trying to silently tell Ryu that if he wanted contact, he could still have it. To his surprise, Ryu's fingers curled hesitantly around his in response.

There didn't seem to be anything they could do but take Ryu home. Hongou-sensei certainly wasn't letting them back in, and he didn't seem about to take them back to the school to do work there, either. As much as it should have disturbed Kyu that they were doing exactly as the message on the wall had said, he had other things to think about.

Ryu's reaction bothered him. Not just his reaction, but the whole case was setting off alarm bells in Kyu's head. The phone (now left with the invading investigators as evidence) had been in Ryu's bag. Tanaka-sensei had singled Ryu out to interrogate. And Ryu had reacted to some powerful, private horror at the scene they had found. Kyu didn't know what it all pointed to yet, but he couldn't put it all down as mere coincidence.

What if the killer was targeting Ryu? That was the first, most disturbing, thought that Kyu had. He kept looking around, trying to tell if someone was following them, maybe stalking Ryu. In this situation, it would be up to him to do what he could to protect his friend.

"It's only Nanami-sensei following us," Ryu said, after several minutes of Kyu's hyper-vigilant act. Kyu hadn't even managed to confirm that someone was following them, but he trusted Ryu's judgement.

"Ryu, do you think something's wrong?" It didn't even occur to Kyu to keep his thoughts on Ryu's safety to himself. "It can't have been a coincidence that you got that call." And now Nanami-sensei was shadowing them on their way home. That did make Kyu feel a little better about Ryu's immediate safety, but it more importantly confirmed his feeling of some dangerous intent aimed directly at Ryu.

Ryu was silent for a long minute, and Kyu had no idea what he might be thinking, since he was sure Ryu had already had time to consider the same dangerous hints that he had noticed.

When he finally spoke, Kyu could tell he was phrasing his words with care, "It's not a secret that we're from DDS. We can't assume anything is a coincidence."

The way Ryu said it suggested other answers, their teachers' sudden appearance and complete lack of patience among them. If the killer knew who was involved in that case, and decided to send their innocent students directly to the scene of the next crime. . . that explained how suddenly they were barred from the scene, as well as Nanami-sensei keeping them in sight the whole way home.

The one thing it didn't explain was Ryu's reaction. Kyu gave Ryu's hand a reassuring squeeze, even as he didn't completely accept the solution Ryu was implying. He couldn't forget the way Ryu had looked in that moment when his head snapped up to stare at Kyu.

That expression hadn't been fear, or horror, or fury, but there had been shades of all three, along with a wild-eyed intensity that Kyu had only seen on Ryu's face once before. That was why it took him so long to place the expression, picturing it in his mind as he walked. Ryu had looked like a wild thing forced into a corner.

Kyu still didn't have any idea what about that scene had cornered Ryu, he only knew that the simple explanation Ryu had tried to give him was not enough. There was more to the truth, and he was determined to uncover it, for Ryu's sake.

* * *

Hongou-sensei did not want his students getting involved with _that_ case, so they had no way to pry even a scrap of extra information out of him. Nanami-sensei was nowhere to be found, though Kyu had the idea that someone was shadowing them, and he certainly hoped it was their friendly man of many faces.

The only word they'd had so far had only confirmed what Ryu had suggested. Katagiri-sensei had basically 'debriefed' them, explaining that they must have been targeted because their teacher was involved with that case, and that it wouldn't be allowed to happen again.

After a week of absolutely no new information, Kyu was all but resigned to never being allowed to find answers. It was like they were expected to forget that anything had happened at all. That left Kyu with only his decision to never let Ryu out of his sight again.

The fact that it seemed to annoy Ryu, and that Ryu wasn't willing to admit that he wanted to skulk off somewhere without Kyu following, only strengthened his determination. If Ryu had only admitted that he wanted privacy for something, Kyu might have left him to it. However, he would soon find out that someone had Ryu firmly in their sights, and that no one would be allowed to forget it.

Ryu finally managed to slip away from Kyu one afternoon on their way home from school. One moment he was there, and the next Kyu turned to ask him something and found only empty air where he was sure Ryu had been only seconds before.

Kyu retraced his steps, trying to think, if he was Ryu, where would he have slipped off to? It would have helped if he'd had any idea what Ryu was up to. Even as he was thinking that there were an awful lot of places that Ryu could have disappeared to, Kyu could guess from where and how quickly he had disappeared that Ryu had slipped into a particular nearby building.

Almost as if Ryu were a lodestone that Kyu couldn't help orienting to, Kyu found that if he simply didn't think too hard about it, he felt an impression of where to go. Kyu had been aware of this feeling leading him to Ryu or Ryu to him before, but each time one of them had wanted, even needed, to be found by the other. That alone added a sense of urgency to his desire to find Ryu. Ryu might not have disappeared willingly, and if that was the case, it really was Kyu's fault for taking his eyes off of his friend for even a second.

It didn't make perfectly logical sense, slipping into the empty foyer of an apartment building looking for Ryu. Kyu felt so sure he would find Ryu there that he wondered if had seen something, just out of the corner of his eye, without realizing it. Trying not to over think things, to the point where he had no idea what he would do when he actually found Ryu, Kyu simply let himself orient to where he felt like Ryu should have gone.

The small corner of a mail room was empty, and the only other place Ryu could have disappeared quickly enough for Kyu not to see him through the glass doors was a nearby staircase. The reasoning supported Kyu's instinct to explore upstairs. The fact that there was no one to ask if they had seen Ryu come through also meant there was no one to stop Kyu and ask him if he belonged there. Kyu took that as a bit of good fortune.

At each landing Kyu paused, listening intently for Ryu's voice. He trusted the feeling that Ryu was somehow somewhere nearby, but he would still have preferred a bit more solid evidence.

On the fourth floor, Kyu heard the indistinct sound of a woman's voice. He was about to dismiss it, when he could have sworn he heard her say, "Ryu-san." Kyu paused in indecision. That couldn't be _his_ Ryu she was referring to, could it?

A moment later he heard Ryu respond, and it was definitely Ryu's voice he was hearing, even if he couldn't make out all of the words. He was able to hear the tail end of what Ryu was saying, ". . . unnecessary to call me out like this."

Kyu crept closer, listening intently. The female voice was laughing, a strange, bubbly sound. Kyu wondered if she might be Ryu's girlfriend or. . . something. That didn't completely fit with the 'Ryu-san' comment, but Kyu was coming up blank for who Ryu would feel the need to sneak off to be with. Particularly someone who only laughed at Ryu when Kyu would have guessed from the sound of his voice that he was irritated.

"But you don't even know how much I have wanted to see you again. How can you be so cold?"

"I had no interest in seeing you," Ryu shot back. Even Kyu, who didn't really know the situation, privately agreed that the tone of his voice was rather cold.

By now Kyu was crouching beside the half-open door to the apartment Ryu seemed to have slipped into with his back to the wall. He was sorely tempted to peek inside, to get a look at the person he was hearing, but he resisted, just in case Ryu saw him.

"Now, now. You don't mean that."

"Get off of me." If his earlier words had been cold, they were nothing compared to the chill in Ryu's voice now.

Ryu's anger only prompted another bubbly, girlish giggle. "But I told you, I missed you. I'm sure you missed me too."

There was the sound of a sudden, breathless gasp, that Kyu was fairly sure came from Ryu.

Kyu felt the first spark of embarrassment for listening in like this. He had simply been irritated that Ryu was hiding something from him and worried that the something was dangerous. He hadn't expected to sneak in on something intimate. Even as he told himself that the idea of something intimate happening inside was only his imagination going overtime, Kyu felt an uncomfortable heat rising in his chest. As much as he wanted to know more about Ryu, Kyu wasn't sure he should be hearing this.

"I would prefer if you _stopped that_."

Stopped what? It was all Kyu could do not to peek. No matter how much he thought he didn't want to know, not knowing was still eating him alive with curiosity.

The next thing he heard was a loud crash, which startled Kyu into jumping to his feet. He heard more feminine laughter, but this time it sent an uncanny chill up Kyu's spine.

"How can I help it if you never fight back?" the girl laughed.

Something was definitely wrong with that last statement. Kyu moved to look inside, to make sure Ryu was all right, but he froze when he heard footsteps coming closer to the doorway. Kyu didn't think he'd made a sound, but he suddenly realized he would be able to avoid being seen if one of them decided to leave.

"And all this time you've been leaving me alone, you've been playing with some silly boy, haven't you?"

Kyu wasn't sure if that last comment was aimed at himself or at Ryu, since the female speaker he had been hearing chose that moment to step around the corner and glance down at him.

"Hi," was all Kyu could think to say. He was obviously busted.

His first impression of the girl was that she was almost as beautiful as Ryu. Her features were delicate, pointed, and almost elfin. Thick masses of blonde ringlets framed her face, taking a little of the sharpness out of her features. She looked very much like a fragile china doll, albeit one furious enough that Kyu expected her to vent her rage at finding him lurking there.

"You must be Ryu-san's friend," she cooed, and held one delicate hand out to him. She smiled, and Kyu suddenly couldn't remember where he'd gotten the impression that she was furiously angry with him.

"Yeah. Um. . . sorry to intrude."

Kyu found himself being led inside, though he didn't remember accepting the girl's proffered hand. He looked at his hand in hers, confused at himself for not being aware of taking it, and further confused by the feeling that she was strong enough to pull him no matter how he dragged his feet, even though she looked so delicate.

Then, Kyu's eyes fell on Ryu, and he felt as if he had snapped out of some sort of stupor. Ryu looked as if he had just picked himself up off of the floor, and there were a pair of chairs knocked over behind him, one broken into several pieces. Kyu was hard pressed to decide if the broken chair was a result of a recent scuffle. The entire room was a mess, as if someone had started to rearrange or repair things, but had gotten to the point of flinging furniture around and finally left in a huff without straightening up.

"Sorry," Kyu said quickly. Whatever Ryu had gotten himself into here, he didn't look hurt, at least. "I don't mean to interrupt the two of you." He tried to turn and leave, because it was preferable to finding out first hand what Ryu would do if he didn't.

"Oh, no. You should stay. I know Ryu-san would love for me to get to know his friends."

Either she didn't know Ryu all that well, or he had lost his mind, Kyu decided. The only impression he was getting from the look on Ryu's face that he didn't want Kyu here at all, let alone socializing.

"Don't you want to get to know me?" she asked. She cocked her head at Kyu, and he found the bird-like gesture was strangely disarming. At the same time, Ryu obviously didn't want him to stay, and that swayed Kyu more than any endearing gesture.

"Alyssia-san," Ryu's voice seemed to resonate through Kyu's bones, getting into his head, even though he knew the words weren't aimed at him. "Let go of him."

"Yeah," Kyu agreed quickly. "I'll just leave you alone."

"Now that's no fun." Alyssia seemed to be ignoring Ryu as she reached up to cup the back of Kyu's neck. "Ryu-san doesn't want to play with me, but you will, ne?"

The next thing Kyu knew, Ryu was at his side, calmly removing Alzssia's hands from him. Kyu hadn't even seen him move. All he knew was that Ryu had been on the other side of the room, and then suddenly he was right there.

"Kyu, you go on ahead without me," Ryu instructed. The seriousness in his voice was doing its best to smother the part of Kyu that still wanted to ask that he be introduced to Ryu's girlfriend, or whatever she was. The more Kyu became aware of the feeling that he was being coerced to leave, the more he wanted to fight it.

"So you can just sneak off again? I don't think so!" Kyu argued, even though he knew he would probably do as Ryu asked. He just hated the feeling that Ryu wanted to get rid of him.

Alyssia responded to the barb before Ryu could. She struck Kyu across the face so hard that he lost his footing, stumbled into the wall behind him, and slid bonelessly down to sprawl on the floor. Kyu stared up at her in shock, his whole head ringing from the blow. Alyssia looked so delicate, and her hands were so tiny. Kyu distantly wondered if Ryu had been the one who really hit him and he had missed it somehow.

Ryu was saying something, but Kyu couldn't make out the words over the ringing in his ears. Whatever it was, it seemed to irritate Alyssia, because she calmly backhanded him. That single blow was enough to knock even Ryu off his feet, sending him crashing into a metal table that had been left haphazardly in the middle of the room.

If he hadn't hurt so much, Kyu would have wondered if he was dreaming. This was somewhere outside of his experience, the idea of that much brute strength in such tiny hands. Kyu had thought Megu could do a surprising amount of damage when she was really angry, but she had never sent anyone flying across the room for a single comment.

Alyssia grabbed Kyu by one wrist, pulling him halfway to his feet. Her grip was so strong that Kyu was sure he could feel the bones in his wrist grinding together. And with the look of smug superiority that came into her face, Kyu was no longer completely sure how he could have thought of those features as delicate. Pretty, yes, but in a rather terrifying way that Kyu didn't want to consider.

"Let go of him," Kyu heard Ryu demand.

Alyssia acted as if she hadn't heard him. She cupped Kyu's face in one hand, her long, elegant nails digging into his cheek, and tilted his face to one side to study him. Kyu got the feeling that she could injure him very easily, and she probably wouldn't care, or even notice.

"You have been so very _rude_ to my Ryu," she scolded. Her sweet, girlish voice belied the painful grip on Kyu's wrist.

Yet again, Kyu didn't even see Ryu move. All he knew was in the next instant a piece of metal pipe had bloomed through Alyssia's chest, its jagged end only a few centimeters from Kyu's face. Blood seeped out around the pipe, spreading in a pool of crimson across the front of her dress.

Ryu was standing behind her shoulder, his head down so that Kyu couldn't see his eyes. It seemed to take Kyu's brain an unnaturally long time to grasp the fact that Ryu was holding the other end of the pipe. It seemed easier for his brain to place the 'pipe' as one of the legs of the table Ryu had crashed into a moment ago, then to place the sight of Ryu's hands on it. Kyu couldn't seem to process the sight of Ryu stabbing someone.

"I told you to let go of him," Ryu hissed, and Kyu felt the grip on his wrist release, letting him fall back against the wall.

"Ryu," Kyu managed to gasp hoarsely. Even if she had been hurting him a little, that was no reason for Ryu to come up and stab someone.

Yet, Alyssia didn't seem at all affected by the attack. She reached up and calmly pushed the pipe back out of her chest, letting it fall to the floor behind her before turning to face Ryu. The last expression Kyu caught on her face as she turned was a strangely satisfied smile.

"I always wondered what it would take to make you fight back. Well, now you have my full attention."

Ryu retreated a few steps. His head lifted, and his eyes found Kyu's over Alyssia's shoulder. He didn't need to say a word, Kyu got a strong enough impression from the look on his face alone. He might as well have screamed at Kyu, 'Get out of here!'

Kyu scrambled to his feet, keeping his eyes fixed on Ryu's as he slid out the door. He wasn't entirely sure he wasn't dreaming, no matter how much the twinges of pain in his wrist and back and face were insisting otherwise. Ryu had stabbed someone right in front of him, and the person he had stabbed didn't even seem to care.

The minute he was a few steps down the hall and could no longer see Ryu, Kyu stopped. He didn't know what he was doing any more. There were sounds of a scuffle inside, but before Kyu's curiosity could override Ryu's command to get out, Ryu came shooting out of the door. He collided with Kyu, sweeping him off of his feet.

Kyu found himself suddenly scooped up in Ryu's arms, balanced against his chest. The hallway was a blur around them, Ryu was running so fast.

"Hold on to me," Ryu instructed, even though Kyu was already clinging for dear life.

Kyu hardly had time to see the window at the end of the hallway, and to realize that Ryu wasn't going to stop, before Ryu dove at it, taking Kyu with him. He curled himself around Kyu in midair, in the second before they crashed, creating a shield over Kyu out of his shoulders and head.

Clinging to Ryu with all of his strength, Kyu wasn't sure at first if they were flying or falling. For one breathless second they seemed to simply hang suspended in midair. Kyu only had the single, powerful impression of Ryu's face above his, surrounded by the sparkle and glare of thousands of tiny glass shards.

Falling might have won, but Ryu's momentum was enough that he was able to catch hold of the fire escape of the building opposite with one hand, halting their fall. He was still holding Kyu with his other hand, which might not have been necessary at that point. Kyu was clinging so hard that he didn't think Ryu could have dislodged him even if he'd wanted to.

Kyu thought he head Ryu murmur his name, but the sound of it was lost as they dropped another level, and then another. Ryu swung them down in stages, halting their fall at each floor, until they finally landed safely on the ground. Then Kyu was being swept along in Ryu's arms again.

Kyu buried his face in Ryu's shoulder. He was trusting that Ryu wouldn't crash into anything, but mostly Kyu didn't want to see it coming if they did crash.

It wasn't long before Ryu slowed, and finally stopped, but Kyu didn't lift his head. He felt dizzy from the wind rushing in his ears, and was halfway convinced that if he did lift his head, Ryu would take it as an invitation to begin another round of dangerous gymnastics.

"Are you all right?"

The concern in Ryu's voice made gave Kyu enough courage to peer up at his face. Ryu was standing stalk still, holding him solidly, but Kyu didn't trust that to be any indication that he was done racing around.

"I'm fine," Kyu managed. He took a second to survey his own body, trying to double-check. As far as he knew, he was fine.

"Can you stand? I'll put you down."

"No way. As soon as you put me down, you're going to run off again, aren't you?" If Ryu decided to leave without him, Kyu knew there was no way he would be able to keep up. His best chance seemed to be to hang on to Ryu and not give him the chance to escape.

"I promise I won't run away without you. I'm taking you home." Ryu tried to set Kyu on his feet while he soothed him, but Kyu stubbornly held on.

"Not until you explain what's going on with you. What were you doing back there!"

"Kyu, I can't. . . Not yet."

"Tell me," Kyu insisted. "You can't hide everything from me, not after that."

Ryu was silent for a few seconds, sifting through Kyu's hair with his fingers and removing bits of broken glass. Kyu allowed it, since reaching up to stop or encourage Ryu would have meant breaking his grip on Ryu's shoulders.

"Not now. Not here."

Kyu opened his mouth to protest, but Ryu cut him off, "At least let me talk to you somewhere private."

"Okay," Kyu agreed easily, "When we get home, then." As long as Ryu told Kyu what was going on, there was no need for him to shout his secrets out to the whole world.

Reluctantly, Ryu nodded his agreement. Kyu finally loosened his grip, waiting a few heartbeats to see if Ryu would bolt anyway. Ryu didn't move an inch. He was waiting for Kyu to take the first step.

The rest of their walk home was made in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we find out just what kind of AU this is, if you didn't guess already. And we get into the boy's love and cuddles forever. I hope everyone will enjoy this new chapter!

Ryu didn't say a word until they were safely back in his room with the door closed behind them. He turned and looked at Kyu, and Kyu got the feeling he would have preferred to be left alone and let the whole incident go unexplained.

"You should sit down," was the first thing he said, his eyes sliding away from Kyu's face.

Kyu sat in the middle of the bed, and frowned when Ryu continued to stand near the door. "You too," he insisted. "Come sit down."

To Kyu's surprise, Ryu did as he was told, perching on the very end of the bed.

"I'm not sure how to explain this to you," Ryu stared at his feet as he spoke, and the fact that he was refusing to move closer or even look up was starting to confuse Kyu. "I don't think you're going to believe me."

"I already know what's going on here. You're like Superman, aren't you?" That was the only conclusion that made sense right now. "You have to be. I mean, you flew! You were faster than a speeding bullet, and everything!"

"Kyu, I'm not a superhero. What have you been reading?"

"You're like evil Superman." Kyu shook his head violently, the events of the last hour were all catching up to him at different speeds. "I mean, you just killed that girl, I can't believe you just-"

And Kyu couldn't continue, because the horror of accusing Ryu of something like that was too much. But he had seen Ryu stab her with his own eyes, and he had also seen Alyssia continue as if the damage had been no more than a scratch, and Kyu didn't know what to think anymore.

"I didn't kill her," Ryu whispered. Kyu barely heard him.

"You stabbed her!"

"It didn't kill her. I knew it wouldn't," Ryu's voice was so faint, defending himself, as if he wasn't sure he had the right to do so. "I needed to distract her, or she might have killed you."

Kyu scooted closer and placed one hand on Ryu's back, rubbing at the tense spot between his shoulder blades. He wasn't sure if he wanted to prove that he was still listening, or maybe just that he was still alive. He should have been terrified of Ryu after what he had seen, but he wasn't. Kyu felt just as drawn to his friend as he always had.

"How did you know?" he asked. He wanted to believe Ryu, but he needed an explanation before he could even try to believe it.

"I know because it wouldn't have killed me. We're. . . Alyssia-san is my cousin. We're very much alike, at least in that." And at least now he was looking at Kyu. "What you need to understand is that I'm not human."

Kyu could never have doubted the earnest expression in Ryu's eyes, all but pleading to be believed. "So, you're an alien?" he guessed. He still couldn't quite let go of the Superman theory. It seemed impossible. . . but so was Ryu running so fast that being swept up in his arms felt more like riding a bullet train.

"No, it's not anything like that."

"A mutant?" Kyu guessed. He was pretty sure someone like that still counted as human, but maybe it was a matter of perspective. He was quickly running out of superhero origin stories to draw on.

"Closer. Kyu, I-" and here Ryu took a deep breath, giving Kyu a hopeless, 'You're not going to believe me,' look, "I'm a vampire."

Kyu blinked once in disbelief, but Ryu didn't seem to be ready to elaborate. His hopeless expression was right, because Kyu didn't believe it at all. He cupped Ryu's face in both hands, and yes, Ryu's skin was cool, but it wasn't as cold as death. He could hear Ryu's breath hitch in surprise at the touch, and when he moved his hand down he could find the pulse-point beneath Ryu's jaw. He knew Ryu's heart was still beating.

"You are _not_ a vampire! You're not dead!"

"I am," Ryu's lips quirked into a faint smile, the first one Kyu's could remember seeing from him in days. "You're right that I'm not dead, but I am a vampire."

"It's not possible. You have a reflection and everything." Kyu knew. He had seen Ryu reflected in darkened windows, in metal surfaces, and in proper mirrors. He would have noticed if Ryu failed to cast a reflection, he was always so aware of the other boy's presence.

"I know I do. I expect you also noticed that I also have a shadow, and that I show up on film. I'm flesh and blood, not some mythical monster."

Kyu waited for Ryu to explain further, but he simply reached up and pried Kyu's hand away from his neck. As he sat, staring blankly at Kyu's hand in his, Kyu was getting ready to start prying details out of him. Ryu might be adamant about his confession, but it still didn't make sense.

"How can you be undead when you're not dead?" Kyu started. Not that he wanted Ryu to be any degree of dead, he just wanted this to make sense. "And aren't you supposed to leach off the blood of the living or something? But you don't even have vampire fangs!"

"I told you, I'm not dead." Ryu frowned down at Kyu's hand, as if it was to blame for Kyu's confusion. "It would be more accurate for you to think of me as a separate species."

"But why a vampire? You don't have fangs."

That was something that Kyu had never understood about vampires. How in the world were you supposed to grow new teeth after dying? Even the fact that hair and nails appeared to continue growing was nothing more than a tightening of the skin after death. Kyu shook his head at his own confusion. Ryu wasn't dead, so the problem wasn't how he ended up with fangs, it was the fact that Kyu hadn't seen any fangs in his mouth at all.

Ryu lifted his head and pulled his lips back into a silent snarl, displaying his teeth clearly for Kyu's scrutiny. To Kyu's surprise, his teeth were unnaturally sharp, and his canines _were_ longer than they should have been. They weren't the obvious, viper-like fangs Kyu had imagined, and in fact the rough edges reminded him more of the blades of serrated knives, but they were definitely fangs.

Without thinking, Kyu reached up to touch Ryu's fangs, only to have Ryu jerk his head away and press his lips shut before Kyu's fingers even came close.

Kyu could only smile sheepishly at the thin, displeased line of Ryu's mouth. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"I don't want you to cut yourself." Kyu thought there was some extra layer of warning lurking in Ryu's voice, but he didn't know what to ask to fish out the meaning behind it.

"I guess I expected them to be more obvious." Kyu wasn't sure how to deal with the fact that he'd missed such a detail about his friend, so he asked the first thing that came into his head, "So. . . are they hollow?"

"No. Grooved," Ryu said shortly. Kyu wasn't sure if the subject made Ryu uncomfortable, or if he just didn't want to display his teeth again.

"So, not like straws, like you bite someone and the blood sort of flows into. . ." Kyu was surprised at himself for trying so hard to imagine how this could be possible. He wasn't just playing along with Ryu, but actually considering it. "But it's not like you drink people's blood, right? I've seen you eat."

"I. . ." Ryu released Kyu's captive hand at last, and folded both of his hands together. He stared down at his hands, and Kyu could practically feel the waves of guilt coming off of him. It scared him, not knowing what Ryu was getting worked up to confess to. "Human blood is. . . it's addictive, especially when it's. . . fresh, but it's not what I need to survive. I couldn't live on blood alone, I need to eat meat. It's better raw, but I can still eat the same things you do and survive. It doesn't have to be. . . human. That's an acquired taste."

Kyu didn't wait for Ryu to work himself up to the rest of his confession, because he was too afraid he knew what was coming. "And have you acquired a taste for. . . that?"

"Kyu, I was raised on it." Ryu squeezed his eyes shut, as if waiting for a blow that he knew had to come. "I eventually made the choice not to eat it, but I can't pretend I never did."

It took several seconds for that to sink in. Somehow Kyu found it easier to accept that Ryu was something other than human than to accept his confession that he had eaten people. Kyu could only stare at him, disbelieving and yet knowing this wasn't something Ryu would lie about.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Kyu wanted to know. It was easy to take that omission from Ryu's confession as a sign of innocence, but Kyu needed to know for sure.

"Does it matter?" Ryu whispered, flinching away from Kyu's question. "Even if I wasn't the one who killed them, people still died because of me."

"Yeah, it matters to me. Because I can't imagine you killing someone." He'd seen Ryu use force to incapacitate a suspect, and sometimes more force than Kyu thought necessary, but that was completely different from killing in cold blood. Kyu suddenly wanted know if he had just been naive this whole time, if he really didn't know what Ryu was capable of at all.

Ryu was silent for what felt to Kyu like a long time, but was probably only a few seconds, before he finally, reluctantly answered. "By the time I was old enough to hunt for myself, I. . . couldn't. So no, I've never personally killed anyone."

"Wait, so you mean you were just fed _people_ when you were a kid? But. . ." Kyu couldn't even seem to express everything he found wrong with that. The first clear idea in his head was, "You said it's addictive. Who raises their kid on something addictive?"

"It's a social norm for us. I think because we're outnumbered, to the point where humans have mostly been allowed to forget about us while many of us still think of this as a war. It's normal, but it's not convenient, and it's not necessary. It's a choice." Ryu lifted his head up at last, and again he had that strange look in his eyes, like he had been backed into a corner, but this time he didn't seem ready to lash out at the one who had cornered him. "So I chose not to."

"Wait, what are you looking at as a war?" Kyu wanted to reach out to Ryu, but he wasn't sure he could. He wanted to ask how difficult of a choice it had been, if it was regret making Ryu look so wretched, but he couldn't seem to get the words out.

"Humans," Ryu pointed at Kyu with one elegant finger, "Against vampires," he turned the finger towards himself, underscoring the difference between them. "You keep killing us, and we keep eating you. There isn't much of a middle ground with something like that."

"Don't say 'we!' You just told me you don't eat people!"

"Guilt by association," Ryu insisted, but he had lost some of that cornered look. "I can't change what I am, even if that bothers you."

"Yeah, but it can't change that you're still my friend, either." Kyu crossed his arms and set his mouth stubbornly. "You're still Ryu, right?"

That surprised a smile out of Ryu, and Kyu couldn't help smiling in return. It was the truth. Ryu was still the same person Kyu had come to be friends with. He couldn't lay 'guilt by association' on Ryu for being a vampire, not when people did terrible things to each other as well. Kyu had seen enough to know that. It wouldn't be right to blame Ryu for what others did.

"I just have one question."

"Just one?" Ryu obviously didn't believe that, and Kyu didn't blame him.

"Okay, one to start. It's not difficult for you, is it? Being around people. I mean, I don't look like dinner to you, do I?"

"Don't worry, you're not tempting me to break my diet. The only time it's difficult for me is when blood is spilled. The smell. . ." Ryu's hands tightened on each other, his body momentarily resonating with some unknown tension, "But I have a lot of practice in abstaining by now."

Kyu couldn't help smiling at that. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm not doubting your self control or anything. I'd trust you anyway. I just don't want to make things difficult for you." He reached up and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, not sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. "You're always holding back, aren't you? I saw what you can do today, so I know you've had to hold back so you could fit in with the rest of us."

As an answer, Ryu caught Kyu's hand in both of his and drew it up to his mouth, pressing a chaste kiss to the back of Kyu's wrist. He didn't part his lips, looking Kyu solemnly in the eyes as he turned Kyu's hand over and kissed the sensitive inside of his wrist. He paused, watching Kyu's face, with his lips hardly a breath away from the pulse-point in his wrist.

"You really do trust me," he murmured against Kyu's wrist, his voice faint with awe.

"Of course I do." Kyu brushed Ryu's cheek with the fingers of his captive hand. He had simply worried that his constant presence made things difficult for Ryu, that he appeared as some kind of forbidden feast. Now Kyu supposed that he didn't have to worry about wanting to be near Ryu all the time. Lately he had found himself craving contact with Ryu more and more.

In fact, it seemed Ryu wasn't adverse to contact with him either, and Kyu thought they both needed a little something to hang onto after everything that had happened that afternoon. He shifted until his hip was pressed against Ryu's and put his free arm around Ryu, leaning heavily against him.

Ryu lay back on the bed, easing Kyu with him, so that Kyu found himself lying halfway on Ryu's chest. He looked up into Ryu's face to find Ryu watching him carefully.

"Is this okay?" Kyu asked. It had nothing to do with Ryu being a vampire, only the thought that Ryu wasn't a particularly social person sometimes, and such familiar contact might not be welcome.

"It's fine." Ryu wound one arm around Kyu. Now that Kyu had some idea of Ryu's strength, he had to classify that firm touch as 'gentle.'

"Is there anything else I should know about you?"

"What do you want to ask?" Ryu sounded tired, and Kyu knew he was being indulged, but he pressed on anyway.

"Like is there anything weird that might hurt you since you're not human?"

Ryu looked up at the ceiling, casually stroking Kyu's shoulders and back as he thought. "Have you ever noticed that most of the approved ways to kill vampires work equally well on humans? Decapitation, incineration, stake through the heart. . . all quite fatal to most animals."

"Obviously I'm not going to do any of that to you! I only meant do you have any weird vampiric allergies or anything. Like do you have to stay away from garlic and crosses and stuff like that."

"Garlic will only make me sick if I eat too much of it. I have a bit of a tolerance built up, I think from eating human food." Ryu actually looked pleased with himself as he said that. Kyu wondered if he was less sensitive to garlic than most vampires. "Onions also, and a few other foods. They wouldn't kill me with one bite, but they would make me quite sick, and a large enough dose would be fatal, yes. Alcohol is the same, and avoiding an overdose might be more difficult to judge.

"I don't have any sort of supernatural aversion to holy relics, either. I've been hit in the face with a crucifix, by a preacher of all people, so I think that's a pretty definitive test." Ryu's lips quirked, as if at some private joke. "He didn't even realize I was a vampire. He just took offense at having a murder investigation 'desecrating' his church."

Ordinarily, Kyu would have been offended on Ryu's behalf. Instead, he found the motion of Ryu's hand stroking his back, and the rise and fall of Ryu's voice to be soothing. Too soothing to do more than think about getting upset. In fact, it was making him quite sleepy.

"You don't hypnotize people, do you?"

It made a strange sort of sense to Kyu. Ryu was undoubtably beautiful. Not in an ethereal, inhuman way, but even when he had shown Kyu his fangs earlier he was beautiful. His cousin had the same effect–surprisingly beautiful, even when she was obviously furious–which made Kyu suspect it ran in the family. Besides, it wasn't just Ryu's face that supported Kyu's theory. The rise and fall of his voice was so soothing that it was becoming hard for Kyu to think. Kyu could believe that Ryu was trying to put him to sleep, and yet the thought of sleeping in Ryu's arms didn't alarm him at all, no matter what Ryu had just admitted to being.

"I don't know how." Ryu's hand moved to carelessly stroke his hair, and he had a faraway thinking expression on his face. "I know it's possible, because I've known some vampires who can do it. Why do you ask?"

"I think you're doing it." Kyu felt too content and comfortable to even try to move when he felt Ryu start under him. "It feels good."

Ryu leapt up and away from Kyu, dumping him back onto the bed. He was on the other side of the room before Kyu could do more than blink. Kyu wasn't sure if it was his own lethergy or simply Ryu's speed that made the action so startlingly sudden.

Kyu slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. His body felt slow and heavy, but his mind was having no trouble processing what had just happened.

"Calm down, Ryu. You didn't do anything to me."

"I didn't do anything?" Ryu let out a strangled noise that made it sound as if he was in pain. "If I had bitten you just then, would you have even protested?"

"You wouldn't have bitten me." Kyu's mind felt as clear and sharp as ever. He didn't even feel sleepy now that the soothing tone had left Ryu's voice. He was sure he was in no danger, and not just because Ryu had told him so. He took every action Ryu made toward him as evidence.

"You don't know that."

"I trust you."

"Yes, but do you trust me because I've earned it, or because I want you to?" Ryu was so still he might have been carved from stone, even his mouth barely moved when he spoke. "All I could think, the whole time I've been trying to explain things to you, was how much I wanted you to believe me. I didn't want to lose your trust. How can you know I didn't influence you?"

"Well, the idea that you had me at your mercy obviously bothers you, and I find that pretty reassuring. Besides, you put so much effort into protecting me, I have a really hard time believing you'll turn around and bite me." Kyu grinned, inviting Ryu to agree with him.

Ryu simply stared at Kyu as if he couldn't understand what he was hearing.

Knowing that Ryu could escape faster than he could blink, or fling him bodily across the room, Kyu still rose from the bed and cautiously approached Ryu. He put his hands on Ryu's shoulders, tilting his head forward until their foreheads touched. He waited a second to see if Ryu would try to put more distance between them, but Ryu seemed frozen in place.

"To tell you the truth, I'm still having a little trouble understanding how we're different. I know you're stronger and faster than you let on, and your diet's a little different, but we think the same sometimes, right? Sometimes you know what I'm thinking, even when what I'm saying doesn't make any sense. And then sometimes I feel like I understand you, even when you don't say a word."

"I feel the same way about you," Ryu murmured. He shifted his gaze to some distant point over Kyu's shoulder, but his posture also relaxed a little, and Kyu thought it was more likely that he was thinking about something than trying to escape eye contact. "Not just you, but humans in general. That's why I've never been able to hunt normally. We're too similar, intellectually and emotionally. It would be murder, and I could never justify it to myself."

Kyu nodded in agreement. That fit with what he felt he knew about Ryu, that he wasn't the type of person who could make excuses to himself once he knew something was wrong. Trust Ryu to really think about what he was doing, not just agree with what someone else told him. Kyu could guess that there were plenty of other vampires that would have no problem carving humans up for dinner. Or whatever it was they did. Kyu found he didn't quite want to know right now.

"I've hunted animals, I'm not _that_ spoiled that I don't know what it's like to catch my own food. So I know it's different, at least to me." Ryu's eyes lost their distant look and focused on Kyu's face at last. Kyu got the feeling that Ryu had gotten a lot of grief over his choice, but he didn't seem about to elaborate on his last comment.

"You don't go out at night and hunt if mom doesn't make meat for a side dish, do you?"

"There isn't much I can hunt around here but people and their pets. One is off my diet and the other is too conspicuous." Ryu paused, and Kyu suspected that he was waiting for an outburst about the 'pets' comment, but Kyu had too much to think about right now to get upset over that specific detail. "And for the past few weeks you've been making it difficult to supplement my diet even by buying anything extra, let alone hunting."

"Oh. Sorry about that." Kyu let go of Ryu and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling sheepish. "Here I was trying to protect you, and I just made things harder for you, huh?"

To Kyu's surprise, Ryu smiled. He hadn't expected that, after Ryu all but flew away from him. "From now on, let me be the one to protect you." Moving slowly, Ryu gathered Kyu against his chest. Kyu knew he was being given a chance to avoid it, but he didn't want to. He relaxed against Ryu, allowing himself to be held.

"I have to tell you, I don't know if I can just sit by like that."

"At least promise me that if it's something like what happened this afternoon you'll stay out of the way. Otherwise you could be killed before you even saw the danger."

"I'll try." Kyu knew Ryu was at it again, coaxing the answer he wanted out of Kyu. He just wasn't sure if he was aware of it this time. "You're doing it again, by the way."

"I know." Determination and guilt were at odds in Ryu's expression as he admitted to it. "I know I shouldn't do that to you, but I want to be sure you'll stay safe."

"I know." Kyu sighed in frustration. It was the most he could seem to do to vent his annoyance when he had Ryu holding him like that. "You're not the only one. That's the reason our teachers wouldn't let us near that crime scene, isn't it?" Kyu didn't know when this had occurred to him, but it seemed obvious now. "They don't want us getting involved with a vampire killing spree."

Ryu nodded in confirmation.

"Do they know about you?" Kyu picked up his head from Ryu's chest, his curiosity temporarily overcoming his comfortable lethergy.

"That I'm a vampire? Some of them do, of course. I'm allowed to stay as long as I behave."

"Tanaka-sensei knows. That's why he was giving you such a hard time." Kyu bristled instinctively at the unfairness of it all. "Why? Does he think that message was aimed at you?" Kyu wasn't sure why he had to ask. As soon as the words left his mouth he knew it must be true. The message had been aimed at Ryu and Ryu alone.

"Probably," Ryu answered. He didn't elaborate.

"Ryu, what happened?"

"I was disowned by my family." Ryu shrugged as if it didn't matter, but Kyu couldn't quite believe that it didn't. "After some time. . . I was approached again. They want me back to come back and be a proper son, but I'm not interested."

"By who, your parents?" Kyu touched Ryu's face in a show of sympathy. He couldn't even imagine being so estranged from his mother.

"No, my extended family. I guess you could call them my clan. My parents died when I was very young."

"People like your cousin?" Kyu suggested. He was trying to imagine a whole family of people like Ryu, and then trying to imagine those same people deciding they wanted nothing to do with Ryu. The girl Kyu had met today certainly seemed to have Ryu's super-strength, or whatever it was, and what was it she had said to Ryu? 'All this time you've been leaving me alone,' as if Ryu was the one who had left.

Ryu's eyes had gone distant again, and Kyu tried to tilt his face closer, to get his attention. "Tell me about it?" he requested. "Talk me to sleep if it makes it easier."

"I'll try." Ryu slipped his arms around Kyu, lifting him as if he weighed nothing, and carried him across the room to lay him back on the bed. "But it would be more comfortable to fall asleep here, wouldn't it?"

Kyu nodded vaguely, snuggling against Ryu's chest and throwing one arm carelessly around him. He recognized the lilt in Ryu's voice now, that meant Ryu was actually experimenting with talking him to sleep. Kyu was torn between wanting to enjoy the floating feeling it gave him, and wanting to hear as much about Ryu as he could.

"I suppose you've noticed, but most of the differences between us aren't immediately visible. Most of them are internal, things like metabolism, muscular structure, or diet. But we're different enough if you look on a genetic level. It's not possible for vampires and humans to have viable offspring, so by definition we're a different species no matter how alike we look.

"Some vampires have been looking at those differences on a genetic level, trying to find proof that we're a superior species." Ryu frowned slightly, stroking fiercely at Kyu's hair as he spoke. It was soothing enough that Kyu couldn't quite be bothered to react to the implications there.

"If you add in the fact that our numbers are quite small compared to the human population, there is a definite interest in preserving and researching beneficial traits. That's the only reason I can think of that they might still find me useful, even though at this point I'm probably considered a lost cause."

"Hm. . . ? You mean you have some skill they want to use?" Kyu wondered if it might be Ryu's attractiveness that made him useful, along with his voice. Kyu wasn't the only one he had an effect on without even trying. He was more tempting than a siren when he made half an effort.

"No, I'm at a point where I wouldn't cooperate with them, even if what they wanted me to do wasn't killing humans directly, and they know it." There was something insistently cajoling in Ryu's voice that had nothing to do with his words, and Kyu didn't doubt at all that Ryu was getting to a part of his story that he didn't want to talk about, and was trying to talk Kyu to sleep before he had to go into it.

Kyu tried to lift his head, struggling to stay awake, but the hand Ryu had in his hair was too heavy to shift. Or perhaps it was the Ryu's chest was too comfortable to lift his head away from. "But what trait do you think it is?" he managed to murmur vaguely.

"If I had to make a guess, the only thing I can think of that they would be interested in replicating is my speed. But that already runs in the family. . . ."

Those were the last words Kyu could make out as his eyes drifted closed, his body succumbing to the absolute comfort promised in Ryu's voice. At the last second it did occur to him to wonder if his attraction to Ryu, his desire to give and receive casual contact, was only the seduction of Ryu's voice, but it didn't matter now. Kyu drifted into calm, dreamless sleep, aware only of Ryu's cool fingers splayed out over his cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little more ~~information character development~~ shameless fluff for you. I hope you enjoy. ^_^
> 
> This chapter also has a section about sushi, and while I hope I've managed to make everything clear in the prose itself I have included a short section at the very bottom that should help explain all of the Japanese terms used.

As he watched his friend over the next few days, Kyu didn't think his perception of Ryu had shifted very radically. He had almost expected it to. After being told that Ryu was a vampire, the last thing he meant to do was put Ryu's confession in the back of his mind to mull over and continue to treat Ryu exactly the way he always had.

Yet once he thought about it, Kyu didn't know what else he could have done. Ryu had been quiet and awkward toward him the first morning after his confession, but he had still been himself. After a few hours it was as if nothing had changed between them. The only difference seemed to be that they had a few more silent understandings then before; Kyu had said nothing when he woke up to find that Ryu had tucked him in and fallen asleep on top of the covers beside him, and Ryu hadn't said a word about Kyu's new interest in researching vampires.

The most important thing, Kyu had decided, was to get more information. Right now all he had was his first glimpse of a new world, one where creatures he had mentally confined to movies and books were as real as his best friend. If Ryu was part of that world, than that was all the more reason for Kyu to discover it as thoroughly as he possibly could. He started with simple searches through the library and on the internet, picking up any scrap of information he could, even things with rather unreliable-looking sources.

Kyu knew he would have to get Ryu to help him work out what was true and what was complete fiction once he had gathered enough theories and questions. He waited until he'd managed to talk Ryu into sharing cleaning duty with him, and had to continue to wait until he was sure everyone else was gone, which meant finishing most of their work before the coast was really clear. Their classroom at DDS felt like one of the safest places to talk about anything, especially once they were alone.

Besides, if Ryu didn't like the questions asked, he would be less likely to just put Kyu to sleep to avoid them. Kyu hadn't minded Ryu hypnotizing him before, but he would have liked it if Ryu could give him an idea what not to ask instead of shutting everything down with sleep. He'd been honest enough that it made Kyu curious about what he didn't feel comfortable saying.

Once he had finished cleaning the erasers and pulled the window shut, Kyu figured it was as good of a time as any to ask Ryu more about vampires. When he turned to broach the subject Ryu, Kyu found himself momentarily distracted by watching Ryu's profile.

Kyu watched his face long enough that Ryu finally turned toward him, puzzled by the scrutiny.

"Do you have a silver allergy?" Kyu asked, jumping on the first bit of new information that came to mind.

"Not that I was aware of." Ryu considered the question for another minute before his puzzled frown finally cleared and he set down the cloth he had been using to clean the blackboard, apparently preparing himself to be bombarded with further questions. "This is because I told you about being a vampire, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I realized I don't know much about vampires, so I tried to look up more information. I really want to know more about you, but. . ." Kyu reached up and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he remembered some of the 'facts' he had turned up. Some of the books he'd skimmed through seemed to have more to do with romantic fantasies than vampires themselves. "You're still the one reliable source of information I have, and I don't want to get this wrong."

"I thought it was werewolves that were supposed to have a silver allergy."

"I read that it was both. You don't happen to know any werewolves, do you?" Kyu hadn't even gotten around to researching other supernatural creatures. Only now did it occur to him that if there was a solid truth behind vampires, there might be others.

"I can't say I've ever met one."

"So you can't turn into a bat or wolf or something like that? You know, like a were-vampire! That would be useful, right? If someone came at you with a stake you could just turn into a bat and fly away!"

Ryu laughed at that, visibly relaxing at the same time. Kyu grinned in response. He'd known it was pretty far-fetched, but he couldn't help thinking it would be cool to see. More importantly, it felt good to hear Ryu's mellow laugh.

"No. I don't even know where that comes from. I don't know of anyone who can change shape like that. And also," Ryu added, his tone one of fond amusement, "I believe a 'were-vampire' would be someone who changed from a human to a vampire, or the other way around. I don't know of anyone who can do that either."

"It would be pretty cool to be able to turn into a vampire," Kyu decided. He watched Ryu return to cleaning off the board, contemplating the idea. "You pretty much have super powers, but you don't gain any huge weaknesses, either. You're not even vulnerable to sunlight."

"It's deadly."

"What?" Kyu took a few steps towards Ryu, thinking he must have heard wrong because Ryu was speaking into the blackboard.

"Sunlight."

Ryu finished cleaning the board, his movements uncharacteristically stiff. He stood for another second, apparently surveying his work, before he finally finished his thought. "Sunlight can easily be lethal."

Then, still not looking around at Kyu, Ryu grabbed the bucket of water he had been using and started out of the room. Kyu immediately went after him, not about to let Ryu run away after a statement like that.

"Wait a minute! Ryu!"

"The erasers," Ryu reminded Kyu, just before he slipped around the classroom door and out of sight. Kyu scrambled to put them in place before dashing after Ryu. If he held on to them, he might have been tempted to throw one at Ryu's retreating back to make him stop.

Kyu managed to catch up with his friend. He knew that if Ryu had really wanted to get away he could have broken into a run and made an easy escape. Even so, he grabbed on to Ryu, hanging on his arm. He hoped Ryu would at least have a little difficulty escaping his grip, but instead found himself forced to trot alongside Ryu in order to hang on.

"Hey, don't you run away from me! If you don't want to tell me something, just say you don't want to talk about it! I can live with it if you don't want to tell me every little detail, but don't you dare shut me out now."

After a few more steps, Kyu was fairly sure he saw Ryu nod once, stiffly. He waited for Ryu to tell him to leave it alone, that the subject of sunlight, or allergies, or even vampirism in general was off limits. Instead, Ryu silently brought him all the way to the first floor washroom and stopped.

Ryu stared to empty the bucket of dirty, chalky water into the sink. He still hadn't said a word to either encourage or discourage Kyu from his subject of interest, which Kyu took to mean it was still fair game.

"What do you mean, saying sunlight is lethal?"

"It is. Just a few minutes can be deadly." Ryu paused a moment, giving Kyu a chance to interrupt, but Kyu got the feeling Ryu was bracing himself to say more. He kept quiet for once, thinking Ryu might tell him more if he was simply allowed to talk at his own pace.

"I don't have any personal experience, so I can't tell you I know this first hand. . . I've heard it feels like having your skin burned off, like being burned right down to the bone." Ryu paused long enough to take a deep breath, sounding to Kyu as if he was making a conscious effort to calm himself. "And I've seen the scars it leaves, when someone survives. Those never fade."

Kyu looked over Ryu's hands and face, but he couldn't see a single mark on either. He waited a moment to see if Ryu was going to enlighten him on how he'd managed to avoid this fate. When Ryu slipped out of his grip and stepped away from the sink, his confession apparently over, Kyu finally butted in.

"You said just a few minutes is lethal, but you've been outside all day with the rest of us, and I've never seen you get a sunburn. You never tan, or even go all pink when you've been out in the sun for hours." Kyu had noticed, after finding out Ryu was a vampire, that Ryu's skin always stayed pale no matter how long he had been out in the sun. He had taken that as evidence that the idea of vampires being vulnerable to sunlight was the complete opposite of the truth, that Ryu was immune to sunlight somehow.

"I've never been exposed to direct sunlight." Ryu finally glanced back at Kyu, and his expression softened in response to whatever he saw in Kyu's face. "We live in a innovative time. I don't need to go around in a black cloak and cowl in order to hide my face from the sun. There are less obvious ways to cover up my skin."

"Like sun screen?" Kyu guessed, following behind Ryu as he went to put the bucket and cloth away. He hadn't noticed Ryu using any amount of sun screen, let alone the amount he guessed would be needed for skin so sensitive that only a few minutes in the sun would burn it enough to scar.

"I suppose it's similar. I've never used normal sun screen." Ryu opened the cleaning supplies cupboard and spent a moment straightening things out and putting them away, plainly giving himself time to think.

"I think it's thicker, for one thing. It feels like paste when you first put it on, before it soaks in. After that, it's not possible to tell that it's not just another layer of skin."

Ryu studied his own hand thoughtfully, while Kyu openly stared at his face. He couldn't see a single hint that Ryu skin could be anything other than skin. No matter how he studied Ryu's face, all his eyes seemed to pick up was how smooth Ryu's skin looked and how perfectly his facial bones were outlined. Even when he reached up and touched Ryu's cheek, stroking his finger over that soft, strangely tempting skin, the only thing he noticed was that Ryu's skin was a little cool to the touch. Ryu's description had put him in mind of a thin layer of dried paste or plaster, but the dry, papery texture he equated with something like that was completely absent.

After stoically allowing Kyu to stroke his cheek for a few seconds, Ryu reached up and caught his hand. He pulled it away in a silent but firm hint that he thought he'd given Kyu enough time to explore his face.

"Is that why your skin feels cold?" Kyu asked. It was the only thing he had noticed that was even the slightest bit different while touching Ryu's face.

"I think that's normal. I just don't give off that much body heat compared to you."

Ryu looked down at Kyu's hand, still held captive in his. His fingers trailed over Kyu's palm as he finally released it. "It always surprises me a little, to feel how warm your skin is."

Kyu considered the difference in their skin temperatures, thinking that Ryu's skin certainly wasn't cold enough to be unpleasant. He hoped that since Ryu had said 'warm' in such a mild voice he felt the same way. He certainly hadn't accused Kyu of being burning hot. He wondered if Ryu might also get cold more easily. He did always seem to go around in long sleeves

Almost immediately, Kyu found his thoughts turning back towards Ryu's skin, and what covered it. If the slight chill wasn't a symptom of Ryu's brand of 'sun screen,' he couldn't think of any other hint it might provide, to help him discover who might or might not be wearing it.

Ryu seemed to know where Kyu's thoughts had headed, because he offered him another bit of information. "It can actually cover up birth marks and blemishes, but I'm not sure how that would be a very helpful hint. You'd have to know that particular vampire well enough to have seen their bare skin." Ryu paused a moment before adding, "I don't think it does much to disguise most scars, so that wouldn't be an indication."

"Does it wear off at night or something? Or do you have to wash it off?" Kyu's fingers twitched towards Ryu's face, wanting to touch again and knowing Ryu had already allowed as much petting as he was comfortable with. "Do you ever take that stuff off around us?" He wondered out loud, before he could think that Ryu might not welcome the question. He couldn't help wondering if he had ever really seen Ryu's face.

"It doesn't make much of a difference in how I look, so I usually take it off at night."

Kyu grinned, grabbing Ryu's hands with both of his own before he could stop himself. That meant Ryu's beautiful face was his own, not one that came from covering himself up. He would have noticed if Ryu suddenly looked different at night.

"Somehow, that makes me really happy," he beamed at Ryu.

"Well," Ryu stammered, pulling his hands away from Kyu's and closing the supply cupboard at last, "That answered your question, didn't it? Why don't we finish up so we can go home?"

Kyu had nearly forgotten that they were supposed to be cleaning up. He agreed easily, following Ryu back to the classroom to collect and take out the trash (a job they had finally figured out to save for last if they didn't want to be making several trips). He had enough to think about to keep him busy for a little while, at the very least.

As they made the trip together, taking the various types of trash and recycling out to the main bins, Kyu's mind was still on the paradox of Ryu's sensitive skin.

"That's why you always cover yourself up so much!" Kyu suddenly exclaimed, nearly startling Ryu into dropping everything he was carrying. It suddenly all made sense. Ryu's face and hands were almost always the only parts of his body that were exposed. Even the day they had all gone to the beach to practice scuba diving, Ryu had spent the entire time in his wetsuit.

"I always thought you were just really shy," Kyu added, amused. Now things really did seem to add up. He had guessed that Ryu was shy because he didn't wear a normal swimsuit, or even shorts, and usually didn't join everyone in the bath when they were staying at a hotel somewhere on a case. On the other hand, he had always been casual about his own body in the school showers, or taking a bath at home. And, Kyu suddenly remembered, he had joined the rest of them in an outdoor bath once, but only after the sun had gone down.

Ryu blushed a little, but other than that he looked fairly undisturbed by Kyu's sudden outburst. He went on casually helping Kyu sort and empty out the trash. Kyu decided that one of the things that fascinated him the most was that he could still detect the faint glow of Ryu's blush, even though that should have been hidden.

"I just feel safer that way," Ryu explained.

Kyu nodded in understanding. Of course Ryu would do whatever was most effective for keeping himself safe. Kyu didn't have to ask if the idea of being exposed to sunlight scared Ryu. There were enough hints in Ryu's behavior, especially the way he had frozen up when Kyu first sprang the subject on him, that Kyu could guess for himself. He didn't have to go out of his way to remind Ryu of that, just to confirm something he had already figured out.

On the way back to their classroom, Kyu's mind drifted back to the scenario that had occurred to him earlier, of Ryu taking a shower along with the rest of the class. He hadn't only seen Ryu taking a shower, but they had gone scuba diving in both the ocean and the school swimming pool together. Kyu couldn't remember Ryu putting anything strange on his face and hands after any of those incidents.

"That stuff must not wash off with water, either. That would be much too risky." Maybe it really was like a 'paste,' Kyu thought. How in the world did Ryu get it off again?

"You actually need a special chemical if you want to take it off quickly. Otherwise you have to scrub yourself like you're trying to take off your own skin. If it just came off with water I think I would be restricted to night school." Ryu smiled, and it took Kyu a little longer than it should have to realize that Ryu was making a joke about his own condition.

"So you give yourself a chemical bath every night?" Kyu guessed.

"No. I think it's a dangerous thing to have around, personally. It's too effective. If I was splashed by accident, I might not have enough time to protect myself before it took effect."

Kyu stopped and stared at the back of Ryu's neck in surprise until Ryu paused and turned to see what was wrong with him.

"Why not just leave it and put on a new layer every day?" Kyu could hardly process the mental image of Ryu trying to peel his own skin off at night. It hurt just to think about it.

"Because that's even more dangerous. It only takes a few days for one layer to come off on its own, and when the bottom layer starts to flake off, you're not completely protected anymore. I've seen the results," Ryu finished, his voice dropping on the last word.

"I'm sorry," Kyu said quickly. He meant for inadvertently reminding Ryu of something that bothered him, but when Ryu's troubled silence stretched, Kyu amended his apology by adding, "I promise I'll never tease you again for spending too long in the bathroom."

That got a smile out of Ryu at least. Kyu nudged his shoulder to get him walking again. As long as he could do something to distract or reassure Ryu when he needed it, wouldn't it be fine to bring up difficult subjects? They were friends, after all.

"Didn't Hongou-sensei tell us about Pluto agents having a sort of makeup that wouldn't wash off with water? I wonder if it's a similar thing."

Ryu didn't answer Kyu's speculation. In fact, he was silent the rest of the way back to the classroom. Kyu didn't say another word, thinking that Ryu was still troubled by airing out a personal fear. Even if his silence was something else, Kyu instinctively knew he wouldn't say a word about it until he was ready.

* * *

They had collected their bags and were halfway home before Kyu remembered the other thing he had planned to ask Ryu. They hadn't said a word to each other since Kyu had made his last comment about other possible uses for Ryu's sun screen, but the silence between them had grown more comfortable as they walked together.

"Hey, Ryu," Kyu called to get his friend's attention, catching his hand for good measure, "Before, you said you need to eat meat, right? Do you only like red meat?"

Ryu hesitated for a second when Kyu touched his hand, then curled his fingers cautiously around Kyu's in response. "Not at all. Some variety is probably more healthy anyway, if it's fresh."

Kyu took Ryu's carefully modulated words and tone was an personal reminder that they were on a public street–not alone–and to please not to say anything too incriminating. He also caught the subtle substitution Ryu had made, and knew 'fresh' was his euphemism for 'raw.' That was what Ryu had told him before.

"Good," Kyu said happily, squeezing Ryu's hand in acknowledgment that he understood Ryu's subtle warning. He gave Ryu's arm a light tug, leading him across an intersection and off of their usual route home.

"Kyu, where are we going?" was all Ryu said in protest. He didn't try to snatch his hand back, or even hesitate to follow Kyu.

"You'll see," Kyu cheerfully promised. "I'm going to treat you today, okay?"

He brought Ryu another block off of their normal route, and led him into a kaiten sushi shop. It wasn't a very fancy place to take Ryu out to eat, but it seemed to Kyu like the perfect place to treat him to an after-school snack. Now that he knew about Ryu's diet, Kyu sometimes found himself watching Ryu during dinner, wondering if he was eating just to fit in and be polite.

There was no greeter this time of day, but an electronic voice above the door called out, "Irashaimase," when they stepped inside. Kyu paused for a second to see if Ryu reacted to shop itself. Ryu's focus did go immediately past the few customers seated at the long, circular counter that dominated the room and to the conveyer belt looped just inside of it. He did look faintly puzzled, but Kyu found it impossible to decide if this was at the sight of the sushi itself, or the fact that plates of it were going for a 'ride' around the shop on a conveyer belt.

They picked out a pair of stools near the end of the counter where the conveyer belt looped back around to where the chef was working. Sitting at the last stretch of the conveyer belt meant they would have the last pick of everything, which was probably why there were mostly empty seats on that side. Kyu simply had the feeling that Ryu would appreciate even this small measure of privacy.

"Oh yeah, Have you ever had sushi before?" Kyu casually asked.

It normally wouldn't have occurred to him to even wonder, but Ryu had told him only a few weeks ago that he'd never eaten ramen before. It probably wasn't reasonable to make any assumptions about his experience with food. Kyu idly wondered if Ryu preferred sashimi to sushi, since it bypassed the unnecessary (for a vampire, anyway) inclusion of rice.

"Yes, but I don't think it was quite the same." There was only a hint of uncertainty in Ryu's voice, but it was as good as a direct request for Kyu to please explain.

"You can just pick up whatever looks good when it goes by," Kyu picked out a passing plate at random just to demonstrate that it was fair game. "And when you're done they charge for how many plates you've collected. It's easy."

Kyu set the plate down in front of him and grabbed a pair of clean mugs from the shelf over the conveyer belt. He set one down in front of Ryu and filled his with hot water from the faucet protruding from the counter between their seats.

Trying to be subtle, Kyu watched Ryu out of the corner of his eye. Without overtly watching, Ryu still managed to mimic his actions, filling his own mug with water for tea, taking chopsticks from the covered box on the counter, and setting up a dipping bowl of soy sauce in front of him. He managed to look as if the only reason he'd had to hesitate before each action was to wait for Kyu to get his hands out of the way, not because he wasn't sure what to do next.

There were two pieces of tuna–cut into nigirizushi–on the plate Kyu had taken. He picked one, dipped it in his soy sauce, and popped it into his mouth, feeling strangely awkward. He could feel Ryu's eyes on him, even though he would have bet it looked to anyone else like Ryu was watching the conveyer belt beyond him. Kyu didn't think he'd ever had someone study him like that while he ate. Even the simple act of chewing became awkward under Ryu's gaze.

"Here."

Kyu offered the plate to Ryu, practically waving the second piece of tuna under his nose. To Kyu's gratification, Ryu didn't hesitate to accept what was being offered, or even stop long enough to dip it in his bowl soy sauce. The piece of tuna disappeared into his mouth, and he made a soft noise in his throat that Kyu took to be one of satisfaction.

"Thank you. That was very good," Ryu said, his voice soft and low with appreciation. Hearing it sent a pleasant shiver down the back of Kyu's neck.

"You should have more, then." Kyu encouraged. "This is a good place to try a lot of different kinds."

Kyu found he suddenly wanted to see Ryu's face as he enjoyed different foods. He wanted to see how Ryu's expression would change; if he would smile, or close his eyes in contentment, or make that delicious sound again.

Ryu took Kyu at his word, at least for trying different things. The next plate to go by he picked out for himself, studied the two pieces of sushi on it intently, then held it slightly towards Kyu for his consideration. Kyu was more interested in the faintly shy look in Ryu's eyes than the plate of gunkanzushi he was holding. The little cups of nori were overflowing with large, pinkish-orange eggs that Kyu recognized as being a fairly common type of sushi. It was interesting that Ryu didn't seem to recognize them.

"What is this one?"

"Salmon roe," Kyu answered simply, so as not to embarrass Ryu for having to ask.

Kyu meant to add that he would eat anything if Ryu decided he didn't want it, but not to put it back on the belt. He didn't need to, as Ryu didn't hesitate to try the first piece. Before Kyu could ask if he liked that too, he saw Ryu's face light up with surprised pleasure.

"Here," Ryu offered shyly, holding out his plate for Kyu to take the second piece.

Kyu shook his head and pushed the plate back towards Ryu. If he hadn't just seen that Ryu obviously liked the taste he might have taken it, but as it was he was pretty sure Ryu had simply gotten it into his head that this was the polite thing to do.

"No thanks. If you like it, you should eat it. I can get my own."

Ryu hesitated for half a breath before eating the second piece. It was enough that Kyu frowned at him and uneasily asked, "You do like it, don't you?" He didn't want to make Ryu eat something he didn't like, after all.

"Very much," Ryu agreed. "I'm not sure I would have guessed it was salmon if you hadn't told me. It doesn't have as much of that distinctive taste."

"Do you ever wonder if we taste things the same way?"

Kyu propped his chin on one hand to watch Ryu. He had been wondering about this himself as of late. Especially since Ryu had let slip the bit about blood being 'addictive.' Kyu had tasted his own blood before, but he couldn't say he was addicted to the coppery taste of it. In fact, he still had a clear memory of falling out of a tree when he was six and knocking out both front teeth. He'd nearly thrown up from the feeling of having his mouth full of blood. Maybe it had to be someone else's blood.

"Sometimes," Ryu admitted. He sounded as intrigued by the idea as Kyu felt. "I don't really think we do."

"What makes you think that?" Kyu wanted to know. He was quite interested to hear Ryu present his evidence.

"It's a little confusing to explain," Ryu faltered.

Kyu snagged two more plates off of the conveyer belt, one with two yellowtail nigiri, the other with three more pieces of tuna, this time wrapped up into small rolls of makizushi. He held them out for Ryu's inspection.

"Which would you like?"

Ryu accepted the yellowtail, seemingly nonplused by Kyu's abrupt change of subject. Kyu waited until Ryu was savoring the first piece to speak again.

"Take your time and tell me about it," he requested.

"You're very persistent," Ryu commented, but Kyu took it as a compliment instead of a complaint. Persistence was a good trait to have when you were trying to get information, after all. And hadn't he promised that Ryu could just tell him to stop if he didn't want to answer?

"It's just that people, in general, seem to make a lot of distinctions that I find I can't taste. For example, I have difficulty telling the difference between salty and sour. People will confidently say a particular food is one or the other, but I have to guess. And many foods that seem very popular don't have strong flavors to me, especially sweets, so I can't see the appeal."

Kyu nodded. He could tell Ryu was looking to him for a confirmation that this difficulty was not normal. It felt good that he could be the one Ryu was comfortable talking to about this.

"But you eat them," Kyu pointed out. Ryu even ate the sushi rice, when Kyu would have understood if he'd only wanted the fish.

"They fill me up. And I guess they still have some nutritional value."

There was something sad about that, thinking of Ryu eating something he found tasteless, just so he could convince himself he'd had food. Kyu could read between the lines well enough to guess that whatever Ryu was able to get out of eating other foods, it wasn't enough.

"Does meat have a very strong taste?"

"Well, beef all tastes pretty much the same to me. People fix it in all sorts of different ways, putting different sauces or spices on it, but it does very little to change that." Ryu paused thoughtfully, eating his second piece of yellowtail to give himself more time.

"It wonder if it's because so many things are standardized. I've read that, when raising cattle, the feed and the exercise and even the breeding are very similar. That could be why."

Kyu had to remember to eat his own sushi, so Ryu wouldn't feel like he was being stared at too much. It was interesting to hear because Ryu was right. Changing the way meat was cooked or what kind of sauce was on it changed the taste for him, even though you could still tell what it was. He wondered if it was just because of Ryu's diet that he seemed to pick up the taste of meat and ignore the extra things that were added.

"Can you taste differences that I can't?" Kyu wondered.

"I'm not sure. I've wondered, but I've never gotten the chance to talk to someone about this before."

Kyu wasn't sure if he wanted to ask what Ryu thought people tasted like. It only occurred to him with the idea that blood tasted, to him, salty and sweet more than anything. Yet those were two tastes Ryu had mentioned not appreciating as a normal person would. In this case, curiosity was tamped down by the fact that he knew the subject was a painful one.

He definitely wasn't going to bring it up in a public restaurant anyway, even if no one seemed to be paying attention to their conversation so far. There was a general babble from a few highschool students ranged along the counter, and an older woman at the opposite end of the counter was chatting with the chef while he worked. The extra noise made it less likely for their half-innocent conversation to stand out, but Kyu knew well enough not to count on that if he brought up a subject that sounded dangerous.

Instead of asking something that he doubted Ryu would want to answer at all, let alone here, Kyu offered his plate of makizushi to Ryu.

"Would you like one? It's more tuna." Especially since Ryu had liked it before. Kyu half-guiltily hoped that Ryu would make that appreciative sound again if he ate more.

"You don't have to give me your food," Ryu pointed out.

"But you're hungry, right? You haven't been eating well for the past few days."

True, Ryu obediently ate whatever was put in front of him, but Kyu didn't think he was getting much meat lately. And wasn't meat was what Ryu really needed to eat?

"Thank you," Ryu said faintly, but it seemed to be more from politeness than anything else.

Ryu took one of the makizushi from Kyu's plate, but for some reason his fingers were visibly tense when he held his chopsticks, and his eyes were downcast. Kyu wondered if Ryu was upset that Kyu had discovered a 'weakness' of his. Or, Kyu realized, maybe Ryu thought Kyu didn't trust him, that he didn't feel comfortable sharing a room with a hungry vampire. But that wasn't what had been bothering Kyu at all!

"You have to take care of yourself, Ryu. I won't know what to do to help you if you make yourself sick."

Kyu widened his eyes at Ryu, trying to tell him that he was trying to find something for Ryu to eat because he cared about his friend, not because he was afraid of him. Besides, one of Kyu's reasons for bringing Ryu here was that he wanted to eat with Ryu. He wanted to do something to show Ryu that even his wanting to eat raw meat wasn't all that strange, and that he didn't have to skulk around and hide it.

"What would you say if I told you that," Ryu pointed his chopsticks at the last makizushi on Kyu's plate, "came from a different fish than the one we shared before?"

It took Kyu half a second to realize that Ryu was returning to their earlier, more comfortable conversation. "You can tell that by how it tastes?" he asked, amazed.

Ryu nodded, and Kyu all but gawked at him until his cheeks started to go pink at the attention.

"You're amazing," Kyu decided.

Ryu was too embarrassed to do more than make a faint noise of protest.

They weren't able to discuss the subject in more depth because right about then a group of girls who Kyu guessed were a little older than them took seats nearby, one sitting right next to him. Kyu let the conversation drop, thinking they could explore it in private later, and settled for watching Ryu enjoy himself.

Of course Ryu ignored any dish that didn't have fish on it. He also seemed to favor the nigirizushi. Kyu guessed that was because the single long stip of fish on top made it at least look like he was getting more fish than when it was stuffed inside the tightly rolled makizushi.

Other than that, Ryu was far from picky. He tried whatever new thing appeared next when he had finished what was in front of him, and quietly accepted half of any plate of sushi that Kyu picked up. Salmon, squid, halibut, and eel; Ryu's subtle but obvious expression of enjoyment changed slightly for each, and Kyu could only wonder what it all tasted like to him.

"Do you like egg?" Kyu eventually offered.

Kyu had already eaten one of the pieces of nigiri on the plate, as had become their pattern. He was particularly interested to know if Ryu would want the other one. It wasn't fish, but it was protein. It was cooked, but the eel had been cooked and Ryu had obviously enjoyed that.

"Thank you," Ryu murmured, as he had for each piece Kyu offered him.

Ryu's expression of enjoyment didn't slip at all, and he savored the piece of egg nigiri the same way he had any of the others. Kyu made a mental note of that. Eggs were also apparently food for Ryu.

"Kyu, thank you," Ryu repeated. His voice was warm with some emotion Kyu couldn't place, even as the sound of it made his heart jump hopefully. "I feel much better."

"I'm glad."

Kyu reached over and squeezed Ryu's shoulder, beaming at him. Just saying that he 'felt better' could have been taken to mean a lot of things, which Kyu guessed was for the benefit of the group of girls next to them. (A couple of them had kept looking over at Ryu and Kyu eating together and then putting their heads together to whisper in a way that confused Kyu.) Honestly, Kyu desperately hoped Ryu was saying more than that he wasn't hungry any more. He'd wanted to do something to show Ryu that he didn't have to focus on hiding.

"I can take you back here any time you like," Kyu suddenly decided, as he helped Ryu clean up and stack their plates together. "Would you like that?"

"I would like that very much."

Ryu smiled. Seeing that warm expression light up his face, Kyu was sure he'd managed to do more than feed Ryu. He thought that somehow he'd helped them understand each other a little better. Just the idea that he might be closer to Ryu felt wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sushi notes:
> 
> Kaitenzushi - (I used the technically incorrect "kaiten sushi" in the fic in hopes more people would at least recognize the sushi part) A type of resturaunt where freshly-made sushi is placed on a conveyer belt that takes it to the customers. Customers pick out whatever sushi (or other items) they want to eat, and when they are done they pay based on the number and type of plates they have collected. These resturaunts generally offer very cheap prices.
> 
> Irashaimase - Greeting/welcome usually said to encourage customers to enter your shop.
> 
> Sushi - Vinegared rice served with small pieces of fish, seafood, vegetables, egg, etc. (Can also refer just to the rice itself.)
> 
> Sashimi - A dish mainly made up of strips of raw fish and other seafood, usually cut and arranged artfully.
> 
> Nigirizushi/Nagiri - A type of sushi with a strip of raw or cooked fish or other ingredients laid over a small ball of rice.
> 
> Gunkanzushi/Gunkan - A type of sushi shapped like a bowl, made with a small round of sushi rice as the bottom and a cylinder of nori forming the sides. Various kinds of fish eggs such as salmon roe are a common filling.
> 
> Nori - Seaweed. You will see it commonly used in sushi to form the 'bowl' of gunkan, as the outer wrapping of maki, and occasionally as a 'belt' to keep nagiri together.
> 
> Makizushi/Norimaki/Maki - Sometimes also known as 'sushi rolls.' Made with an inner layer of fish (and/or other ingeridents) wrapped in rice, then wrapped in nori. (Note: 'Inside-out' rolls, with the rice on the outside instead of the nori are common in America, but not in Japan.)


	4. Chapter 4

Occasionally Q-class was broken up into two or three groups and assigned to different cases. Hongou-sensei was adamant that they needed to be able to complete cases independently, and this was their first step towards that. Usually these cases were smaller, less involved, and more easily resolved. At least that was true for the ones Kyu had been assigned to. He had noticed that Ryu was often the odd one out when they divided into three groups, and that Ryu never seemed to want to give up details of what he had been doing. Kyu had jealously suspected that their teachers allowed Ryu out alone on harder cases for some reason. Now, however, he had a different theory.

Kyu always tried to guess what the other assignments were. Megu and Kazuma had been the first to leave with someone who Kyu was fairly sure was actually Nanami-sensei, (though it was sometimes hard to tell). That would be something detail-oriented, Kyu speculated. Maybe they would be investigating some strange details at a scene that might or might not have been someone's dying message.

Hongou-sensei had taken charge of him and Kinta to deal with what some people were calling a 'haunting' and others seemed convinced was a common peeping tom. The only thing they knew about Ryu's case was that Tanaka-sensei was taking charge of him.

Vampires, Kyu decided quickly. This had to be something to do with vampires, and this time there was no reason why Ryu should have to go alone.

"Hey, am I supposed to pretend I don't know about you?" Kyu whispered in Ryu's ear while he thought Tanaka-sensei and Hongou-sensei were busy discussing logistics. Tanaka-sensei immediately looked around at the two of them, and Kyu froze guiltily. He couldn't have heard that, could he?

"I don't think that would work now," Ryu answered, confirming Kyu's suspicion that he'd been caught out.

Tanaka-sensei finished what he had been saying in a few curt words and approached the two of them. His expression was noncommittal, but Kyu was extremely aware of being scrutinized.

"Amakusa-kun?" he addressed Ryu, his voice as mild as his expression.

Kyu found Ryu's hand and squeezed it under the desk, trying to apologize and offer support all at once.

"He asked," was the only defense Ryu gave at first. It took a few seconds of Tanaka-sensei staring him down before Ryu added, "We trust each other."

Tanaka-sensei frowned at Kyu, giving him the impression that he was being inspected for some vital quality and coming up short. He felt Ryu squeeze his hand back, and somehow that made him feel more confident.

"Hongou-kun, would you object to my borrowing a fresh pair of eyes?" Tanaka-sensei finally asked, much to Kyu's surprise.

Kyu anticipated what Hongou-sensei was going to object to. He would accuse Kyu of shirking his duty by abandoning the case, but each time he was assigned to any sort of 'stalker' case with Kinta, it seemed to quickly culminate in Kinta leaving him behind and chasing the suspect down.

"You know Kinta can handle this easily. He doesn't need me to solve a case like that," Kyu pointed out, interrupting his teacher even though he should have known better by now.

Hongou-sensei might still have forbidden it, but for Kinta leaning over and hissing right in Kyu's ear, "Hey! You're not leaving me alone with-"

"Tooyama-kun," Hongou-sensei interrupted, his irritation transferring seamlessly from Kyu to Kinta. "Did you have something to say?"

"No, nothing!" Kinta lied quickly, "I was just wishing Kyu good luck."

Kyu tried not to wince at Hongou-sensei's expression. He didn't know why Hongou-sensei always seemed to single out Kinta to find fault with, but lying to him certainly wasn't going to help things. Kinta had already been complaining about their sensei running him ragged, and Kyu doubted he was about to lighten up today. Kyu actually felt a little bad leaving Kinta alone with him.

Of course Kinta wouldn't be allowed along if he hadn't been debriefed about the vampire situation. Kyu would need to bring up later how Ryu would feel about the rest of their classmates knowing. It was his secret to share or to keep, especially since he wasn't dangerous, but Kyu would have preferred not to have a big secret in the middle of their close-knit group. They might even be able to help Ryu.

"Hongou-kun?" Tanaka-sensei asked again, politely bringing Hongou-sensei's attention back to his original request.

Hongou-sensei studied them for a second, and Kyu belatedly realized that from where he was standing he would be able to see their hands clasped together under the desk.

"It would seem Kyu-kun is already involved in your case. You might as well take him along."

Kyu knew Kinta was going to grill both of them after this was over, and he'd have to be very careful not to breathe a word of Ryu's secret, but it was all worth it. For once, he was going to be working together with Ryu instead of watching his friend go off alone.

* * *

The victim was another young man, his body in worse shape than the first one Kyu had seen. He had also been blindfolded, this time with a sleeve ripped from his shirt. His other sleeve served as a gag, and the rest of his shirt was wadded up in the corner of the room. Nothing remained to hide the mosaic of bruises and bite marks scattered across his torso.

Kyu didn't even look to Tanaka-sensei for permission, simply knelt to inspect the marks scattered across the man's arms and chest. Each bite was a pair of puncture wounds, but not the clean, round holes that Kyu faintly remembered seeing in horror movies. Each puncture was a neat curve on one side, a jagged mess on the other. Between each pair were faint marks, which Kyu took to mean that the bites had been deep enough that the teeth in between the two fangs had also marred the skin. Kyu couldn't help thinking of the look he'd had at Ryu's teeth. The bite marks seemed a perfect match for what he now knew about vampire fangs.

The bites were scattered in strange places; on the man's palms, the insides of his elbows, the underside of one arm, directly beside his navel, and above his right nipple. Only one mark seemed to scream 'vampire,' the wound on the victim's neck. His head had been wrenched to one side, apparently to allow better access, which prominently displayed what Kyu took for the final, killing bite.

Why so many extra bites? The signs of bleeding from each made Kyu sure they had been made while the man was still alive. Surely there was no need to bite his arms and chest before going after the vulnerable vein in his neck and draining him dry, and wounding him over and over must have been what necessitated the gag. The thought of torture made Kyu feel sick inside, as if simply killing him hadn't been enough.

Ryu's hands descended firmly to Kyu's shoulders, drawing him out of his thoughts for just an instant. Kyu reached up and gripped Ryu's hand in acknowledgment. He didn't need to see Ryu's face to know that their feelings were the same, that Ryu found this wrong in the same way that he did. Having Ryu beside him served as a reminder of how real the 'vampire' aspect of this case was, which somehow made it easier for Kyu to investigate the scene with a level head.

"How do you think he was restrained?" Kyu asked, mostly to break the silence. The livid bruises on the victim's wrists suggested some form of restraint, yet Kyu couldn't see any signs of rope burn or marks from the edges of metal restraints.

"Probably with bare hands."

Kyu jerked himself around to look up at Ryu's face, surprised to hear him say it so blandly. He had gotten some hint of Ryu's strength, and so he thought he'd had an idea of a vampire's strength compared to a human's, but seeing it like this was entirely different.

When Ryu wouldn't look down at him, Kyu followed his gaze. His eyes fell on the wall across from the body, and he studied the message on it for the first time. 'Come home,' once again in garish red. Was it once again aimed at Ryu? He had gotten the idea that something had arrested Ryu's attention while he was examining the bite marks, and now he knew what it was.

"Paint again?" he asked faintly. That was the only way Kyu knew to deal with something that threw him off balance, to dig himself deeper and deeper into a case until he found answers. Even now he couldn't help grasping at this or that aspect of the scene, searching for something he understood, somewhere to stand while unraveling the rest of the unfamiliar facts around him.

"They wouldn't waste the blood."

That made sense, but it also opened up another question. The first scene had been so clean it had looked nearly sterile, particularly the floor beneath their victim. This time there were small splatters of blood decorating the floor and walls, painting out the struggle that had taken place here. Stranger still, there was a pool of dried blood where the body lay, as if his back had also been bitten over and over, and his blood smeared across the floor.

"Then what about the blood on the floor?" Kyu pointed to the smears the disappeared under the body. "He must have been bleeding from his back, too."

Ryu eyed the marks, but didn't speculate on them. He drew Kyu back with him, standing to one side so that final measurements and photos could be taken before the body was disturbed. Kyu watched Ryu's face, confused that he didn't seem to agree. The random scattering of bites on the skin they could see made it quite plausible that there were still more scattered in places that they couldn't see yet.

It wasn't until they moved the body that Kyu found out that there was more than mere bites there. The victim's back had been torn open, strips of skin and flesh trailing around the edges of the gaping wound, his broken spine jutting out unnaturally the moment the body was moved, and. . .

Not until Ryu caught him did Kyu realize that the sight had made him unsteady on his feet. He couldn't tear his eyes away, feeling lightheaded and sick and unable to stop his racing mind from piecing together an all too convincing explanation for the gaping hole, and for the protruding edges of ribs snapped and torn out of the way.

Ryu practically lifted Kyu off of his feet and hauled him out of the room, and Kyu found himself quite grateful for Ryu's strength, because he wasn't sure he could have taken a step on his own. He allowed himself to be propped up, sandwiched between the wall and Ryu's solid, steady chest, and was suddenly strangely aware of the tiny height advantage Ryu had over him. Ryu seemed to block out the whole world when he wrapped himself around Kyu, so that Kyu felt as if he was being shielded.

"They ate him," Kyu managed to say.

He knew Ryu knew, and his voice was so faint he wasn't even sure Ryu heard him anyway. He didn't know which was worse, the thought of someone carving out that unnamed man's insides and devouring them, or that the victim had then been neatly arranged to hide the fact. As if he had _only_ been tortured and murdered, Kyu reminded himself, which did nothing to dispel the feeling of horror.

"He didn't feel it," Ryu reassured him. It was the only thing he could have said that was both true and comforting. Ryu whispered the words again into Kyu's ear, one hand cupping the back of his head and shifting him forward until his forehead rested against the steady shoulder in front of him.

"I know."

Mercifully, Kyu found that Ryu was right. His mind was working again, noting that the man's back must have been opened up some time after his death, judging from how little blood had seeped out of such a huge wound. Trying to piece together the order of events left less room in his mind for horror, and knowing made things somehow less terrifying, if no less terrible.

"This wasn't random, not just because of the message on the wall. There's some other message we're supposed to get from the body." Kyu spoke into Ryu's shoulder, not completely sure Ryu could even hear his muffled voice. He didn't want to move away just yet. As long as he was this close he had Ryu's clean, comforting scent to overpower the faint smell of blood still lingering in the air.

"Did you know, a vampire's bite is actually very distinctive. Not just the size and shape of the wounds their teeth make, but how deeply and where they chose to bite."

"So it's a murder weapon and a M.O. all in one," Kyu finished Ryu's thought. "They're announcing their identity." The first victim had been cut open, not bitten. A method like that didn't even necessarily announce that they had been after their victim's blood specifically.

"I wonder. The bite pattern and the marks don't quite match up." Ryu laid his head against Kyu's and Kyu wrapped his arm around Ryu's neck in response. "I've seen that pattern before, but the bites themselves. . . You got a good look at them, right? Those marks from the other teeth mean the vampire doing the biting has somewhat shorter fangs. The one vampire I know who favors that specific bite pattern doesn't have that trait."

Kyu lifted his head to stare at Ryu. He was quite sure that Ryu had been in on these investigations before, but Ryu had said 'the vampire I know,' instead of something impersonal like 'judging by the marks I've seen on other bodies.' Ryu was all but admitting that he knew that vampire on a level other than as a detective chasing a murderer.

"Imagine you find a body cut up in the same pattern favored by a known serial killer, yet you find that the wounds themselves don't match to the same weapon used on other victims."

"A copycat," Kyu responded, almost instinctively. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would one vampire try to frame another vampire? If they didn't want to announce who they are, why not just use a knife or something?"

Kyu stopped to think for a minute, considering Ryu's example in his head. He had almost completely overcome his earlier weakness now that he was focused again, but he continued to lean thoughtlessly against Ryu.

"You know, there's one big difference between a knife wound and a bite mark. What if one vampire sent another to deliver the message? In your example, they could have the same kind of knife, as well as mimic the cut pattern, but these aren't the same as knife wounds. You can't borrow another person's teeth. And you said there's only one vampire you know who bites in such a distinctive pattern."

Ryu's eyes closed and he took a deep breath, hugging Kyu more firmly against him. "That makes sense," he agreed.

"And you know who the message is from just by looking at the pattern, don't you?"

Ryu nodded, and his grip tightened still more. If he squeezed Kyu any harder it was going to become painful.

"He's my uncle."

"Oh."

Kyu felt faint again, and his stomach flipped over. He didn't even know how this must feel for Ryu, who had chosen not to hurt people out of empathy, to see this message from a member of his own family. Instead of letting himself dwell on that, Kyu tried to think about the case, to work out which details were part of the message and which might be unintentional clues they could use.

"Why were they blindfolded?" Kyu wondered out loud. Both of the bodies he had seen had been blindfolded, though Kyu couldn't think of any reason for that. "The first time, it looked like they put the blindfold on him at the very end. There was some blood on it, but there wasn't as much soaked in as there should have been if it was there when they slit his throat."

The second time, Kyu wasn't sure. The gag had most likely been in place the entire time, since it would have been necessary if the victim was awake and aware enough to struggle as much as the far-flung splatters of blood suggested. Considering that his shirt was wadded up in one corner of the room and hadn't been stained with spots of blood the way the floor around the body had, Kyu would bet the blindfold fashioned from the other shirt sleeve had been placed there at the beginning, when it was convenient. Kyu felt another surge of empathy for the unnamed man. He wouldn't have even been able to see where the next blow would fall.

"But why?" If it wasn't necessary, and it was some other part of the message, what did it mean? "Covering the eyes like that. . ."

Kyu looked into Ryu's eyes, thinking, and knew from the expression in them that Ryu wasn't sure he wanted to know, even as he couldn't keep himself from chasing the truth along with Kyu. So expressive, Kyu found himself thinking. Even though Ryu often covered up or subverted his emotions, his eyes still said so much.

The cloth was more than a blindfold, it was a mask. "They're hiding his identity," Kyu mused, before correcting himself, "No, not trying to hide his identity, just cover it up. Like. . . saying it doesn't matter. It could be anyone." Kyu felt cold as he said it, but he was sure he was right.

Kyu saw an expression of relief flash across Ryu's face, followed by something almost like triumph. He wondered if Ryu had already worked that out, and had just been waiting for him to confirm it.

Ryu nodded slowly, relaxing his grip on Kyu with apparent reluctance. "I think you're right. I should tell Tanaka-sensei."

Kyu pushed himself away from the wall, intending to go too, only to have Ryu push him back.

"You stay here for a little while. Just sit down for a few minutes."

"Ryu, I came here to help. I'm not going to let you chase me away now." Kyu grabbed onto Ryu's shoulders stubbornly, determined not to be left outside the crime scene again.

"You already have helped. You can see this from a different angle than I can," Ryu assured him, gently but inexorably prying Kyu's hands off of his shoulders. There was an extra quality in his voice that Kyu could detect as Ryu's particular, irresistible brand of coaxing, but couldn't he seem to do anything about it. The sound seemed to trickle past his consciousness and reason, whispering wordless reassurances and begging Kyu to step back and let himself be looked after.

Without meaning to, Kyu slid down the wall to sit on the floor. He lifted his chin defiantly and glared at Ryu. "You're doing it again."

"I'm sorry." Ryu reached down and ruffled Kyu's hair, and Kyu was only a tiny bit gratified to note that the hypnotic quality had mostly left his voice. "I promise I won't leave you out of this. I just don't want you to be overwhelmed. It really shook you, what you saw before."

"I don't know why. You'd already told me all about it. I can't say I was shocked or anything, especially after this many cases." But the thought of their victim being torn open after death, his organs and flesh and Kyu wasn't even completely sure what removed and devoured, his abused body rearranged almost artistically. . . all of it still made Kyu feel cold and sick inside. "It's better if I can do something," he insisted.

"I know." Ryu knelt in front of him, his eyes so intense that Kyu wondered faintly if he was being hypnotized again. "I'll come right back, and I'll bring you any extra details they've found, and we'll keep talking until you've figured out even more. I promise. It's just that someone needs to tell Tanaka-sensei what you've thought of so far, and I don't want you to see that again. Not yet."

"I love you," Kyu replied, managing a weak smile. He was only half joking. The offer to bring him more evidence instead of expecting him to sit quietly was unbelievably touching.

Ryu flushed, standing quickly and looking away from Kyu. "I'll be right back," he promised.

Kyu let his head fall back against the wall as Ryu went back inside. He thought he was steady enough that he could go back in now, but hypnotism aside he didn't want Ryu worrying at him and watching him like he was about to faint. He trusted that Ryu would come back soon, and they would talk more until Ryu was sure that Kyu could come back in and study the scene with him properly. And together they would find some answers that would help them put a stop to this.

"Are you hurt?"

Kyu looked up to find a man in a police uniform standing over him, faintly startled because he hadn't heard anyone approaching. He couldn't place the man's cragged, pockmarked face, but he had seen quite a few police officers on the way in and he didn't have a photographic memory like Megu. The man's expression was cold and faintly distasteful as he eyed Kyu, so that Kyu's first thought was that he probably didn't like the idea of letting teenagers into a crime scene.

"I'm fine. They just asked me to wait outside for a few minutes."

"You shouldn't be sitting out here on the floor." The man bent enough to grasp Kyu's upper arm and hauled him to his feet before he could protest. Kyu winced at the hard grip, taken by surprise by the rough treatment.

"I'm here from DDS," Kyu explained. "If I'm in the way out here, I'll just go back inside."

"If you want to sit down there's a bench this way," the man told him, ignoring Kyu's attempts to reach his notebook and prove who he was. Either he already knew Kyu was from DDS or he didn't care.

"No, my friend's coming right back," Kyu tried to protest again, even as he found himself pulled along down the hall. He couldn't break the grip on his arm, and found that he had to stumble along beside the man if he didn't want to fall on his face.

"I'll tell him where you went. He's that other boy from DDS, right?"

Kyu watched the man's profile, getting the feeling that there was something wrong here. The grip on his arm was too hard for mere assistance. If he thought Kyu might not belong there and intended to throw him out it would matter if he was from DDS or not, yet he hadn't allowed Kyu to produce proof or made any sign that he cared.

It didn't seem he was interested in talking unless Kyu spoke to him first, so Kyu cried out the first thing that came into his head, "I told you, I'm from DDS! You can't just throw me out! Tanaka-sensei asked us to come specifically."

"I know who you are. I'm just taking you to a more comfortable place to wait for your friend."

It didn't matter what he said. Kyu had just wanted to get the man to open his mouth again, so he could get at least a brief look at his teeth. He couldn't tell form the glimpse he got if they would match the bite marks on the body he had just been examining, but it was enough to be sure that he saw fangs in the man's mouth. His teeth were too pointed, too jagged, and too long to belong to a normal person. Of course it wasn't unbelievable that a police officer who happened to be a vampire might be called to the crime scene if Ryu was there, but the fact that this man was a vampire, and currently dragging Kyu away from the scene. . . .

"Ryu!" Kyu shouted at the top of his lungs. He didn't mean to panic, but when he struggled against that iron grip and only felt it tighten, he couldn't help himself. "Tana-"

That was as far as he got before a large hand was clamped over his mouth. Kyu found himself lifted clean off the floor as he was rushed down the hall.

Kyu could only kick ineffectively at his captor a few times before he was hauled around a corner–out of sight of anyone around the scene, he guessed–and slammed bodily against the wall. The blow stunned him for a second, and the next thing he knew the vampire's face was only inches from his, fangs bared in an unmistakable threat.

"Be silent, or I'll kill you right now!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

All Kyu could think was that the threat couldn't possibly be worse than being tortured to death. He would rather do something, anything, to call attention to himself than feature in a repeat of the scene he had just examined.

Just because he was a detective didn't mean Kyu didn't know a few things about fighting dirty, and the vampire was still only holding Kyu by one arm. Kyu moved faster than conscious thought, jabbing the thumb of his free hand into the vampire's eye.

Kyu was rewarded with a shout that might have been surprise or pain, but before he could do any more damage the vampire planted one fist in his stomach. That single punch was like having the air knocked out of him by a charging bull. Kyu doubled over, falling to the floor when the vampire dropped him. For a few seconds all he could do was lay on his side, clutching his bruised stomach as he struggled to breathe again.

The vampire nudged Kyu with one foot, and he managed to roll his head back and look up. He didn't know what to make of the mix of disgust and satisfaction on that face, but looking beyond that, Kyu at least knew that his struggle had been worth it.

"Keep your hands off of him." Ryu's voice made Kyu's heart lift, even as he sounded as if he was threatening to take someone apart.

The vampire didn't look the slightest bit intimidated by Ryu's anger. Instead, he seemed almost pleased. "I'm glad you were finally able to join us, Ryu-sama." He nonchalantly shoved his hands into his pockets, as if he expected Ryu had just come to have a chat with him, and then aimed a sudden kick at Kyu's prone body as punctuation.

What happened next was too fast for Kyu to see. Ryu was between them in the blink of an eye, shielding Kyu's body with his own. One arm shot out, little more than a blur, to knock the older vampire's legs out from under him before he could even finish the movement. Yet Ryu apparently wasn't fast enough. When he drew his arm back Kyu saw he'd been stabbed with something that looked like a cross between a dart and a syringe.

Even as Kyu tried to sit up so he could get out of the way, he felt Ryu sway and nearly collapse on top of him. For a second Ryu's eyes went impossibly wide, and Kyu was afraid he'd been attacked with some sort of deadly poison. In the next moment Ryu seemed to recover, tearing the weapon out of his arm and dragging Kyu up off of the floor. Even though Ryu didn't seem to have trouble hauling Kyu to his feet, he still swayed slightly where he stood.

"Get out of here," Ryu commanded.

There was no way Kyu could leave him. He felt like such an idiot for not realizing sooner, for raising his voice and calling out for Ryu. Of course they had been after Ryu all along. He grabbed Ryu's hand, trying to pull him away from his deadly face-off.

"Run, Ryu! Just run for it!"

"I can't."

Ryu hadn't taken his eyes off of his dangerous adversary, but it seemed Kyu had still served as a fatal distraction. The older vampire attacked, not as quickly as Ryu, but still too quickly for Kyu to do anything about it. He punched Ryu in the stomach, the same way he had hit Kyu a minute ago, making him double over and slump into his attacker's chest.

"Leave him alone!"

Kyu knew it had to be one of the stupidest things he'd done in his life, attacking someone who had that much of an advantage over him, but he was blocking the way back, so running for help wasn't an option now anyway. Besides, when the vampire lifted Ryu's limp body and slung it over one shoulder there was no other possibility in Kyu's head.

Kyu rushed in heedlessly, and found himself caught before he could do anything. Apparently the vampire only needed one arm to haul Kyu, protesting and flailing with all of his might, over his other shoulder. Kyu tried to elbow him in the throat, or knee him in the solar plexus, or do some sort of damage, but none of his struggles seemed to have the slightest effect this time.

Screaming for help was still an option, there was still Tanaka-sensei, but Kyu wasn't sure shouting for him would change anything. Why wasn't he here already? And if Ryu could be defeated so easily, could their sensei even do anything to save the two of them?

Ryu was hanging limp next to him, and Kyu found himself distracted from his own struggle by the sight of his friend. Ryu's eyes were glassy, wide open but blank. It was hard to be sure that he was even breathing until Kyu reached over to touch his face. Whatever had been done to him, it was horribly effective.

"Ryu, snap out of it." Kyu shook Ryu's shoulder, ignoring the fact that Ryu was getting more than enough shaking as the vampire carrying them clambered down stairs and made his way outside. "Wake up! Ryu, don't scare me like this. Please wake up."

Slowly, too slowly, Ryu blinked at him. The glazed expression in his eyes seemed to fade as he did so. He blinked again, and Kyu saw a faint spark of recognition in his eyes.

"Kyu," Ryu's lips moved, but Kyu hardly heard him. He braced his hands against their captor's back, shook his head as if to clear it, and suddenly seemed aware of his surroundings. "Kyu!" He cried a second time, and now his voice was clear, strong, and angry. "What do you think you're doing with him?"

Ryu finally tried to fight, but it was too late. Kyu felt himself being lifted off of that wide shoulder and thrown backwards. He landed on his back, recognizing the place he had landed as the back seat of a car. Before he could sit up Ryu was tossed in as well, landing on top of him and knocking the wind out of him a second time.

Kyu fell back, momentarily stunned. He heard the car door slam, and felt Ryu leap off of him to collide with the closed door. Kyu could only gasp for a few seconds, watching Ryu struggle with the door, not surprised when he saw it wouldn't open from the inside.

It was a little more surprising when Ryu tried and failed to break the window, slamming first his fist, then his shoulder into it. Kyu would have thought Ryu was strong enough to be able to smash the glass. Of course, if Ryu's kidnapping had been planned out this far, he wouldn't be allowed to escape so easily. Either the window was reinforced to withstand even vampire strength, or whatever the other vampire had stabbed Ryu with was still working on him, weakening him.

Kyu finally managed to sit up. He cautiously shifted closer to Ryu, and managed to draw him away from the offending window before he could do himself injury. Ryu was shaking almost uncontrollably, and Kyu couldn't tell if it was from fury or weakness. He wrapped both arms around Ryu, trying to hold his friend tightly enough to calm the tremors wracking his body.

"Bastard," Ryu whispered, even as he let himself be gathered against Kyu's chest. Kyu looked down at his friend, startled. He'd never heard Ryu use language like that before

"Malcolm, you bastard!" Ryu raised his head and his voice. "Let Kyu go! He has nothing to do with this!"

For all that he had referred to Ryu as 'Ryu-sama,' Malcolm ignored the command. He calmly started the car and put it into gear as if he hadn't heard Ryu at all. There was a glass partition separating them from the driver's seat, and without it Kyu thought Ryu might have leapt out of his arms and attacked their kidnapper right then.

Several long seconds passed, but there was no wail of sirens, no sounds of pursuit, only the small, helpless gasps of fury Ryu made against Kyu's chest. Kyu couldn't believe they were being taken away like this. If he hadn't had Ryu to hang on to, he probably would have been shaking too.

"Where are we going?" Kyu finally asked. He was afraid to know, but at the same time he had to ask. He didn't quite dare to ask what would happen when they got there. He had too many ideas about that already.

It was Malcolm who answered. "Home," he said simply, and Kyu could have guessed as much.

Malcolm's eyes, even reflected in the rearview mirror, bored into Kyu. For the first time in his life Kyu felt like prey.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weird note: it made my beta laugh, but the reason I had Kyu try to jab Malcolm in the eyes in the last chapter was actually because I'd read that was what you were supposed to do when attacked by a shark. Sometimes I end up using the oddest little bits and pieces while writing...

Kyu felt as if he was walking into a den of wolves. He was hyper aware of Malcolm following behind him and another man in front whom he could only take to be another vampire, and he couldn't even guess how many more of them might be inside. Ryu's hand tightened on his, and Kyu looked over at his friend, distracted for a few seconds from the imposing figure waiting for them.

They had driven for hours, into what Kyu could only think of as the middle of nowhere. He thought he could remember the road well enough to make his way back, but that wouldn't do him much good. They would have to escape before they could even begin to make the trip back.

That was assuming Ryu was well enough to walk back. He had extricated himself from Kyu's arms as soon as he'd stopped shaking and moved to lean against the window. He hadn't said a word to Kyu through the entire ride, but considering their company, Kyu was willing to let that slide. Right now Malcolm was the last person Kyu would want listening in as he tried to interrogate Ryu about his health.

The house they had finally pulled up in front of wasn't reminiscent of either a haunted mansion or an ancient castle. In fact it could have been noting more than the modern, secluded villa of a wealthy eccentric. That made the place seem all the more surreal. They'd been called out to half a dozen similar places on DDS investigations.

When they had finally been let out of the car, Malcolm sweeping a mocking bow to Ryu as he opened the door, Ryu had taken Kyu by the hand and maneuvered himself to physically shield Kyu's body as he stepped out. Even as they walked side-by-side towards the house, Ryu had not let go of Kyu's hand.

Ryu's eyes were locked on the figure standing at the front door. His expression was closed, and Kyu could only begin to guess what was going through his friend's mind. Kyu kept his eyes fixed on Ryu's face until they were at the front steps of the house, when he couldn't ignore the vampire waiting for them any longer.

The vampire was tall, was Kyu's first impression, his figure blotting out the light shining through the doorway. It made him look like an imposing shadow waiting for them, though he wasn't large in the overpowering, broad-shouldered way that Malcolm was. Kyu's attention was drawn directly to his eyes, which seemed to glitter in the last rays of the setting sun.

"I must express how pleased I am that you have finally accepted my invitation to come home."

The man in front of them spread his arms in welcome and smiled at Ryu. Rather, the corners of his mouth turned upward while his eyes remained cold and his expression remained predatory. Some primal part of Kyu's brain was screaming at him to flee, but he still knew well enough to stay as Ryu's side, to cling to the slight protection he had and not turn his back on something so deadly.

Kyu knew his fear showed, particularly when that false smile was turned on him, and he saw the first spark of real amusement in those cold eyes.

"I suppose I must welcome you as well, even if you are the one causing my beloved nephew to stray." This second greeting was directed at Kyu, and was punctuated by the man crossing the few steps between them and grabbing Kyu by the left hand before he could do more than blink.

Kyu let out an undignified yip of surprise when Ryu's uncle kissed the back of his wrist. The iron grip seemed nothing like the feeling of Ryu's firm, cool fingers wrapped around his other hand. The sensation of cold lips on his hand sent a nasty shock up Kyu's spine. That grip was too strong for Kyu to break, even when he tried to throw his whole body backwards, losing hold of Ryu's hand in the process.

Ryu tensed, and snarled, "Don't touch him."

Startled, Kyu looked over at his friend, taking his eyes off of the vampire in front of him. Ryu's face suddenly looked as dangerous as his uncle's, his eyes narrowed and dark.

While Kyu was distracted by Ryu's sudden anger, his captive arm was twisted painfully as Ryu's uncle turned his hand over. In the next second he felt fangs sinking into his newly exposed palm.

Kyu yelled in surprise and pain, suddenly renewing his efforts to pull himself back and escape. He couldn't shift the grip on his arm, let alone reclaim his hand.

There was a triumphant look in the older vampire's eyes in the split second before Ryu moved. He attacked his uncle too quickly for Kyu to be completely sure what had happened. He saw Ryu's follow-through as he struck out at his uncle, saw the older vampire's head snap up, either from the blow or from anger, Kyu couldn't tell. Either way, the grip on his arm loosened enough for him to snatch his hand back.

The second he was released, Kyu dove to one side. He saw Malcolm move to intercept him, but again Ryu was faster, catching Kyu in his arms and snatching him out of harm's way. Kyu found himself clasped safely against Ryu, clutching his throbbing hand with his uninjured one, feeling disoriented by how quickly it had all happened.

"He's _mine_ ," Ryu insisted, and Kyu wasn't entirely sure what to think of the vehemence he heard in Ryu's voice. It was a mix of comforting and startling and embarrassing to be so abruptly claimed by his friend.

"Are you afraid we're going to break your toy?"

Ryu didn't deign to respond. He was tense, nearly trembling again, which scared Kyu. He didn't know if Ryu was getting ready for a full-blown fight or if he was still weakened from what had happened to him earlier.

Kyu couldn't help remembering Ryu telling him that the only time it was difficult for him was when blood was spilled. He pressed down on his injured hand, trying to put enough pressure on it to stop the bleeding. There was no telling what new violence might erupt over the smell of spilled blood.

"If you're not going to share, I suppose you could just take him with you." Ryu's uncle made a gesture for Ryu to precede him inside. The perfectly cultured fake smile was back on his lips.

Kyu wouldn't have thought he could take another step closer to Ryu's uncle, let alone step past him into that house, but when Ryu put one arm around him and dragged him in that direction he found himself walking automatically. They gave Ryu's uncle as wide of a berth as the doorway would allow, Ryu deftly positioning both of them so that neither his uncle, nor Malcolm, had another clear shot at Kyu.

Once they were inside Ryu pulled Kyu along so quickly that they were nearly running, leading him up a wide staircase that curved elegantly up and out of sight of the front door. He practically dragged Kyu down the second floor hallway and finally into a room at the very end of the hall.

Kyu had enough time to take a single glance around, but there was nothing striking about the room itself. It might have been a guest room in any of the places they had stayed while working on a case. Then Ryu had pulled him through a second door and into an attached bathroom.

"Your hand," Ryu reminded him.

Kyu glanced down at the blood pooling in his palm, then cast around for something he could use to put pressure on the wound, to hopefully stop the bleeding.

"I know. Let me bandage it up."

"You have to clean it out first." Ryu swallowed hard and released Kyu, taking two large steps back towards the door. "Because he bit you. . ." Ryu had to pause again, taking a deep, shuddering breath before he could continue, "It's his saliva. You have to wash that out, or the bleeding won't stop."

Kyu took a few sideways steps away from Ryu himself, not sure what to make of Ryu's pained expression. That was the sort of thing he wished Ryu would have told him earlier, it might make a difference in an investigation, but he didn't have it in him to complain about Ryu holding back information right now. Ryu was visibly tense, obviously upset, and Kyu didn't know how much trouble the smell was giving him.

"I'll take care of it," Kyu assured him.

Ryu turned and left him, slipping silently back into the bedroom faster than Kyu could blink.

There was a sick, throbbing feeling in Kyu's palm from the bite, which made a suitable match for the faintly sick feeling of nervous fear in his gut. At least the former he thought he could do something about.

Turning the hot water on as high as it would go, Kyu proceeded to scrub the wound in his palm with soap. His blood made pink ribbons in the sink, diluted by the running water and rushing down the drain before he could guess how much blood he had really lost. The sting from the soap was faintly reassuring. It made him feel like he was doing something.

After washing his hand at length, Kyu paused to examine the bite. There were just the two puncture wounds in his palm, with no extra marks between them. Both had torn, jagged edges where his skin had torn when he struggled. He couldn't help mentally comparing his wound to the bite marks on the body they had investigated that afternoon.

Kyu recognized that it was a good thing he hadn't been bitten on the wrist, especially since the radial artery had been exposed along with his palm. However, based on what little he knew of Ryu's uncle, what Ryu had said in attributing the bite pattern on their second victim to him and the way he had acted towards both of them, Kyu knew the bite hadn't been a gesture of mercy or moderation. It might have been a new kind of message to Ryu, but Kyu got the feeling that the older vampire was simply enjoying playing with the two of them.

After rinsing the last of the soap away the bite didn't hurt nearly as much, but it was still bleeding sluggishly. Kyu dug around under the sink for some sort of bandage, and eventually ended up wrapping a hand towel around his palm. It would at least absorb the blood and put pressure on the wound until the bleeding stopped completely.

Cautiously, Kyu peeked out of the bathroom to find Ryu sitting on the other side of the room, leaning against the now closed door that led back to the hallway. Kyu wondered if Ryu had closed the door himself, for the scant security and privacy it would give, or if they were now locked in.

"Can I come in?" Kyu asked. He was holding the towel tightly over his injured hand, but he wasn't sure how good Ryu's nose was. Would his impromptu bandage really keep Ryu from smelling him?

"Of course." Ryu's head lifted slightly at Kyu's presence. He was no longer holding himself tense. Instead he looked tired, even drained. Kyu couldn't blame him, considering that was about how he felt, himself.

Kyu sat at the desk, which was almost as far away from Ryu's spot as the bathroom doorway had been. He thought it would be better to at least stay away until the bleeding stopped, just in case Ryu was sitting all the way on the other side of the room because he needed to physically distance himself.

"Is this your room?"

The way Ryu had led him straight to it suggested that it might be his. Now that Kyu had a chance to look around, he noticed that the bedroom Ryu had led him to was impeccably clean and looked quite unlived-in. There was a full bookcase against one wall, but none of the books looked like novels, mysteries or otherwise. The shelves were only filled with heavy, dense texts. There were no posters on the walls, and the only things on the desk were a nondescript pencil holder and a simple calendar, which didn't have a single entry written on it and was months behind as well.

Yet, the neglected calendar was turned to the month when Ryu had first asked Kyu if he could stay for a few days. That seemed like evidence enough that this room belonged to Ryu.

"Yes. I had hoped that I would never be back here again."

Kyu still didn't understand why Ryu had brought him inside without a fight. Had he given up because he knew he couldn't win in a two-on-one fight? Or was it because the added factor of Kyu's blood being spilled made retreat the only option, and this was the only place to retreat to?

His confusion must have shown on his face, because Ryu explained, "I couldn't let them manhandle you anymore."

"What if I wasn't with you?" Would Ryu have fought to the bitter end with only his own life on the line? Kyu didn't like that idea one bit. What if only Ryu had been taken, to stubbornly fight against the two of them on his own out here? And he was the one who was always trying to make Kyu stop flinging himself into dangerous situations.

"I probably would have just. . . let it happen. I don't have much of a chance right now, anyway."

"But you just defended me! Couldn't you have gotten free, just long enough to run? You're faster, right?" Kyu had to admit, even while he wanted to think Ryu was the best, that his uncle did seem to have the same disorienting speed that Ryu did. But as long as Ryu got a head start, couldn't he still get away?

"I couldn't have kept that up, not if they had pressed me." Ryu clenched one hand over the spot where Malcolm had stabbed him earlier. "I couldn't outrun them, either. Not with that drug still in my system."

"What was that, anyway? What did they do to you?" It didn't seem Ryu had been poisoned outright, as Kyu had been afraid of at first, but whatever Malcolm had done to him had certainly weakened him. "You'll feel better soon, right? It's not going to get worse. . . ?"

"That drug was developed by vampire hunters. It's an extract from garlic, actually. I'm lucky I didn't completely pass out from it." Ryu stared down at his knees. Kyu didn't have the heart to point out that it had certainly looked to him like Ryu had passed out for a minute there. He would have to bring it up later. "It'll take hours to work through my system, but once it does I'll be back to normal."

Kyu couldn't help thinking that this should have come up when he had asked Ryu if there were any 'vampiric allergies' he should know about. Garlic had come up, true, but he'd been under the impression Ryu had to eat the garlic himself. It hadn't occurred to him to be on the lookout for an injection that could knock Ryu out cold.

"So something like that can stop you?" It was a little unbelievable. "It's like a vampire tranquilizer? Assuming you can get one to hold still long enough to jab them with it. I bet that's the hardest part." He hadn't even thought of stopping a vampire with a simple drug. All the 'traditional' methods of killing them seemed to be either overkill or completely ineffective once he learned more about them.

"Exactly."

For a split second Kyu thought Ryu's mouth quirked in amusement, but the expression was gone before he could be sure. Kyu didn't quite see what was funny about their situation. Now he knew why he had been used as bait. They'd been counting on Ryu shielding him and making his own body vulnerable.

"Can't we still get out of here? We could still run. We're not even locked in right now."

"Tanaka-sensei knows what happened to us. We'll wait for him."

"If he knew where we were, wouldn't he be here already?"

"There may be someone running interference. Just give him a few hours." Ryu dropped his gaze from Kyu's face, staring at the floor instead. "It's the best we can do."

"What?" Kyu gaped at Ryu in disbelief. He knew he couldn't just sit back and wait for death. How could Ryu suggest that so calmly? There had to be something they could be doing to escape.

When Ryu refused to defend his plan further Kyu got to his feet and crossed the room to where Ryu was sitting. He saw Ryu twitch when he came closer, but the bleeding from his palm had finally stopped, so Kyu trusted that wasn't what had caused Ryu's nervous reaction. He knelt beside his friend, placing his uninjured hand on Ryu's shoulder.

Ryu's head snapped up, and his eyes were wide, but his hands also came up to rest on Kyu's back in something almost like an embrace. They stared at each other for a few breathless seconds before Ryu shifted, putting his knees down to allow Kyu closer. Kyu took it as an invitation, moving so that he was practically sitting in Ryu's lap.

Kyu leaned closer and whispered into Ryu's ear, "Let's just go. Let's get out of here. If you can't run, we'll steal the car or something. We'll think of something."

"They'll tear you apart if we get caught." Ryu tightened his grip as he spoke, until Kyu found himself being hugged so hard he couldn't have backed out even if he wanted to. "Didn't he hurt you before? Don't you understand?"

Now Kyu was sure the bite on his hand had been a message to Ryu, and worse, Ryu seemed to be acting on it.

"I understand. That's why I want to get out of here! What do you think is going to happen if we stay?"

"We can at least give Tanaka-sensei time to get to us. If he finds us in time, that would be the safest for you. That's all I'm thinking about right now." Ryu took a deep breath, his eyes locked on Kyu's face, and Kyu believed every word, though he still wasn't sure he liked it. Shouldn't Ryu start thinking about his own safety?

"If you need to defend yourself. . ." Ryu started, interrupting Kyu's train of thought by pressing something into his uninjured hand. "At least you'll be able to try."

Kyu looked down to find he'd been given a narrow cylinder, square at one end and tapering to a rounded point at the other, similar to the thing Ryu had been attacked with. He turned it over in his hand experimentally. It felt like slightly rubbery plastic.

"He had an extra. I stole it so he couldn't overdose me and kill me, but you might need it." Ryu looked faintly pleased with himself. He caught Kyu's right hand with his own, gently closing Kyu's fingers around the syringe. "Squeeze it," he instructed.

Kyu squeezed experimentally and found the action made a needle pop out of the tapered end. It stayed out for a handful of seconds once he loosened his grip, then disappeared again. He could only guess that it had been designed that way so as not to prick the vampire carrying it.

Having a weapon, even one that he knew had been extremely effective on Ryu, didn't make Kyu feel much better. Getting close enough to use it could quite easily prove fatal, especially if it didn't take effect instantly.

"So we really have no choice but to wait for Tanaka-sensei?"

As far as Kyu knew they weren't even being watched right now. The could be able to just walk out the door, but Kyu knew that Ryu wouldn't even allow him to try out of fear that he would be killed in the attempt.

"I know it's dangerous, but how can it be more dangerous than just sitting here? I don't want you to be trapped here again. I just want us to get out of this together. Besides, how can you know we even have time to wait for Tanaka-sensei?" Kyu didn't have to admit out loud that he was scared. He was sure Ryu must already know without him saying a single word.

"I know what they have in mind for me, so we have a few hours at the very least." Ryu didn't sound nearly as worried as Kyu felt. In fact, he freed one hand to rub Kyu between the shoulder blades. "I just want to be sure you're safe."

Between the feeling of Ryu rubbing his back and the relaxing effect of his voice, Kyu suddenly felt unnaturally calm. Trust Ryu to have everything planned out, at least as much as you could plan in a situation like this. Still, the feeling of Ryu deliberately soothing him wasn't enough to completely dull Kyu's mind.

"How do you know we have that long?" Kyu lifted his head, the desire for answers overpowering the urge to put his head on Ryu's shoulder and just lay limp against his chest.

"Trust me."

Kyu tilted his head, looking sideways at Ryu as if the new angle might grant him some new perspective. It should have been obvious that he trusted Ryu with his life. He didn't need to be reminded to trust him, even now. He would have thought Ryu already knew that.

"Why won't you tell me how you know?"

"Because we both need to rest if we're going to get out of here." Without giving Kyu a chance to interrogate him further, Ryu shifted his grip and scooped Kyu up in his arms. He stood quickly, lifting Kyu seemingly without effort.

Kyu thrashed in Ryu's grip, even though he didn't think it would do any good. Lying cradled in his arms was not the proper position to question Ryu from! To Kyu's surprise, his struggles actually threw Ryu off balance, making Ryu stumble and dump Kyu unceremoniously on the bed. He was barely able to stop himself from falling flat on top of Kyu in the process.

"Um. . . sorry," Kyu apologized, looking sheepishly up at Ryu, who had caught himself with his hands on either side of Kyu's body. It hadn't occurred to him that just picking him up might be too much for Ryu to handle right now.

Kicking off his shoes, Kyu obligingly scooted back into the middle of the bed, allowing Ryu to climb up beside him. He cuddled up to Ryu the minute he was situated on the bed, offering a silent apology for forgetting that Ryu still hadn't recovered.

In a valiant display of self-control, Kyu was still for a whole minute, trying to give Ryu the time he needed to recover from being knocked off-balance. All he could think of was wanting to know how Ryu knew how much time they had. 'A few hours' wasn't much of a hint to work with. Did they have until midnight? Morning? Kyu doubted it could be much longer than that.

"Augh! You're hiding it from me, I know it!" Kyu exploded, pulling at his own hair in frustration. Ryu must have been expecting this, because he merely leaned out of the way of Kyu's flailing arms. "At least give me a hint! You know I don't know enough about vampires!"

Ryu caught Kyu's arms and trapped them before pulling Kyu against him in a restraining embrace, but Kyu just couldn't stay still. He turned Ryu's attempt to calm him–or at least keep him still–into an impromptu wrestling match. Taking Ryu by surprise by throwing himself into the embrace and knocking him over, Kyu proceeded to sit on top of his friend.

"You're withholding evidence again, aren't you?"

Ryu looked away, his expression closed and all but unreadable. Kyu got the feeling he was being shut out, and he didn't like it.

"This isn't like you at all, Ryu. Is it really that bad?"

Actually, it would have been exactly like Ryu not to announce a deduction before he was sure, and occasionally even then to still keep things to himself if the situation wasn't urgent. He often neglected to share or even drop hints about any evidence he had found, especially when he thought it was in plain sight and the others should be able to find it for themselves. But it wasn't like him to be so stingy when he had been asked directly.

Kyu had to practically lay on top of Ryu in order to look directly into his face. "You know I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me what you're holding back. You know I can't, and you know I need to know what's going to happen, so you can at least give me a better hint. Or you could just tell me what they have in mind for you."

"Stop it!" Ryu snapped. He twisted under Kyu, suddenly reversing their positions so that Kyu landed flat on his back with Ryu on top of him. He blinked up at Ryu's face, momentarily disoriented. "Just stop," Ryu repeated, his hands clenching on Kyu's arms, holding him still.

"I have a theory," Kyu started, because he couldn't stop himself now, not even for Ryu's sake, "About why they were willing to leave us together. What I want to know is why you think we have 'a few hours.'"

Ryu winced, looking more as if Kyu had struck him than simply tossed out a pointed question. He would have liked to reach up to touch Ryu, to hug him or comfort him somehow, because he wasn't sure of the words he needed to apologize. He couldn't shift Ryu's grip enough to raise his hand. Kyu squirmed, feeling mildly uncomfortable and even claustrophobic from the way Ryu was holding him down.

"You know you're right. You don't need to say it. They intend for you to be my last meal."

Kyu swallowed hard. Having his suspicions confirmed out loud was unnerving, but right now he was more concerned with the way Ryu had him pinned. His heart was pounding from a heady combination of apprehension and something he couldn't identify. It made him want to squirm in Ryu's grip, to test and see if Ryu would release him or lie flat on top of him in order to keep him still.

Before Kyu followed the impulse to experiment, Ryu relaxed his grip and lifted himself so that at least he was no longer trapping Kyu. Kyu took advantage of suddenly having more room to breathe by gasping a few times, not entirely sure what had come over him.

"I would never. . . Kyu, you know that, right?"

"I know. You know I trust you, right?"

Kyu smiled almost cheekily at his friend, trying to invite him to share in the joke. He wanted to at least have Ryu believe he was okay, since he wasn't completely sure himself. His heart rate was certainly taking its time returning to normal.

"Then why are you afraid? Are you afraid of what will happen to you if I'm not the one to do it?"

Kyu couldn't bring himself to deny it, because he could hear the implications behind Ryu's words. Quite frankly, the idea of being 'torn apart,' as Ryu had put it earlier, terrified him. The only thing that kept Kyu from dwelling on that idea was the fact that there was something that scared him even more.

"I want to know why you're talking like they're going to execute you."

Ryu went completely still, and that alone confirmed Kyu's suspicions that this was what Ryu had been trying to keep hidden from him. At the same time, if Ryu hadn't made that little verbal slip a moment ago, Kyu might never have even guessed.

"But Ryu, they're your family!"

As much as Ryu's uncle made Kyu's skin crawl, he didn't want to believe that this whole scenario had been set up so that they could deliberately hurt Ryu, let alone kill him. It made more sense to Kyu that their idea was to keep Ryu locked up until he gave in and ate his friend. A sort of vampire intervention. Or a reverse intervention, since Ryu had called the desire for human blood an addiction. Even if it was impractical and horribly cruel to Ryu, Kyu could understand the reasoning behind that method. It was almost like a mother making her child sit at the table until they gave in and ate their vegetables, except with murder.

"That's why he's doing this. Because we're family, it's personal for him. My uncle is just taking responsibility for correcting a mistake," Ryu explained. He sounded emotionless, almost detached, but when Kyu reached up and wrapped his arms around Ryu's shoulders he jerked visibly from the sudden contact.

"You're not a mistake," Kyu whispered fiercely, dragging Ryu down so he could hug him. Ryu gave a single shudder, then lay meekly on Kyu's chest, allowing himself to be held. Somehow it made Kyu even more angry to feel Ryu lying so still, accepting it.

"I love you, Ryu, so let me be your family!"

Ryu lifted his head from Kyu's chest, his eyes bright and his cheeks flushed pink. Kyu felt his own face grow hot in response to Ryu's blush, but he soldiered on.

"'Ka-san likes you too. She even says we're like a matched set." Kyu babbled, not sure if he was trying to alleviate Ryu's embarrassment, or simply his own.

"Kyu. . . It's more than enough to say you like me as a friend," Ryu stammered out.

"I like you," Kyu agreed obligingly. For some reason, Ryu's blush deepened when he said that.

Kyu couldn't help but smile, and not only because Ryu was surprisingly cute when he was flustered. The nearly expressionless face Ryu had assumed since they arrived here was finally slipping away. Kyu hadn't even realized how much Ryu had opened up to him in the last few months until that emotionless mask had gone up and he'd found himself shut out.

"I-I like you too." Ryu's eyes flitted away from Kyu's face, but this time Kyu didn't feel offended at being avoided. He expected Ryu to leave it there, but after a minute Ryu went on, "You're the first close friend I've ever had. I never wanted you to be in danger like this, especially not because of me. Even when they were sending those messages, I thought it was random. I thought these were people they would have killed anyway. The only difference was that they were suddenly announcing themselves in such a flamboyant way. I thought that way we might have a better chance of catching them in the act, of stopping them. . .

"But this is all my fault. They took you because I-" Ryu interrupted himself with a sharp intake of breath, sounding as if the very words pained him.

"This isn't your fault. I know you never wanted anyone to get hurt. Besides, this isn't over yet. We just have to get out of here together, right?" Kyu found he felt more confident about their chances while he was reassuring Ryu.

"I'll do anything to protect you," Ryu promised.

Kyu already knew that, or at least believed it. That was simply part of who Ryu was. Smoothing a few strands of Ryu's hair back away from his face, Kyu couldn't help wanting to be the one to protect Ryu for once.

"Just promise me one thing? Don't let them hurt you. Don't you dare just lay down and let yourself die, or I'll never forgive you."

Silently, Ryu lay his head down on Kyu's chest, turning so that Kyu couldn't see his face. This only strengthened Kyu's half-formed suspicion that Ryu would consider dying for him. It didn't matter if it was out of some sense of obligation or out of friendship, Kyu refused to accept that.

"Promise me," Kyu insisted. "How do you think you're going to save me if you just give up?" he reminded Ryu. Not only did he not want to be saved at Ryu's expense, but Kyu didn't see how it would do any good in this situation.

"I won't give up," Ryu finally promised.

When Ryu shifted so that he was looking up at Kyu again it made Kyu feel warm inside. For just a second all he wanted was to keep Ryu's eyes on him, just like that.

"We could still run away together."

It had already been sunset when they arrived, so it should be fully dark by now. Kyu knew without having to check. He didn't want to look away from Ryu to check. Would they have a better chance to escape in the dark?

Ryu shook his head. "I still need time to recover." His hand slid under Kyu's neck as he spoke, and he started to rub tiny circles along Kyu's spine. "You should rest a little while you have the chance," he encouraged, his voice slowly dropping to whisper, "We at least have tonight."

Something in Ryu's touch or his voice made Kyu's breath catch. He couldn't have said why, but it made him want to get even closer to Ryu, to say even more. Maybe it was the way his body was relaxing, one muscle going limp at a time, that kept him from being able to name the impulse tickling at the back of his mind. Even as he could feel the persuasion in Ryu's voice trying to wrap around his mind and coax him to sleep, Kyu refused to close his eyes. That would have meant looking away from Ryu's face.

"You're doing it again. Your voice," Kyu heard himself murmur, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to ask Ryu to tone it down or to keep going.

His fingers still sliding up and down the back of Kyu's neck, Ryu started to hum softly. If Kyu had been relaxed before, this made him feel as if his bones had turned to jelly. Ryu's voice was hypnotic even without words. Kyu didn't know if he was particularly sensitive because he trusted Ryu absolutely, but he found it impossible to mind that Ryu was soothing him to the point of being insensible.

Kyu tried to ask Ryu to stay with him, but he wasn't sure how clearly his words came out. All he could hear was the soft humming resonating in his ears. His eyes slid closed, but Ryu was still there, lying on top of him, so for now Kyu thought that everything had to be all right.

Ryu stopped humming, but the sound went on inside of Kyu's head, drawing him on towards a deep sleep. It wasn't until he felt Ryu move suddenly, his weight evaporating from Kyu's chest, that Kyu was able to drag himself away from the lure of sleep. He couldn't open his eyes yet, but he was aware that Ryu was still in the bed with him, kneeling over him.

"I see your father never taught you not to play with your food."

Kyu placed that voice immediately, and if he hadn't been hypnotized into his current limp state, he thought he would have scrambled to get back behind Ryu. He hadn't even heard Ryu's uncle open the door.

"Get out of here."

"Ah. . . Teenagers these days. Whatever am I going to do with you?" There was a false mirth in that voice, too hard to be anything but disturbing. Ryu's uncle knew exactly what he would do. Kyu tensed, more in fury than in fear, to hear that taunting, barbed tone aimed directly at Ryu. "But I suppose I should not frown on you practicing such an invaluable skill."

"Get out," Ryu repeated. His tone was flat and cold, and Kyu could feel Ryu's hands clenching into fists on either side of him.

Kyu heard retreating footsteps, the smug tap of dress shoes, then the bedroom door slammed and the muted sound of footfalls continued on down the hall.

Ryu started shaking. Kyu was able to crack his eyes open to see Ryu on his hands and knees, shielding him, his face down and his expression once again closed and unreadable.

In spite of the lingering feeling of limp relaxation in his body, Kyu managed to raise one arm and drape it over Ryu's shoulders. Ryu's eyes snapped open and he stared at Kyu in surprise for a second before giving in and laying back down on top of Kyu, practically clinging to him.

"Relax, Ryu, relax. It's okay now." Kyu rubbed the back of Ryu's neck the way Ryu had done to him, and felt Ryu slowly, perhaps reluctantly, relax against him in response. "You need to rest too, remember? If I could talk you to sleep, I would."

"I'm glad you can't. He might come back," Ryu pointed out, but he lay almost peacefully against Kyu as he said it.

"Hm. . ." Kyu sighed in response. As long as he had Ryu with him like this he felt safe, even in a den of wolves.


	6. Chapter 6

When Kyu woke he found Ryu still with him. He was no longer acting as a living blanket, but spooned against Kyu's side instead, deliberately positioned between Kyu's body and the door. Noting that fact was enough to make where they were and what had happened all come rushing back.

The soporific calm that Ryu's voice had blanketed over his mind faded quickly, but a feeling of comparative safety remained. Ryu had protected him, and was still doing so, even while dozing. Blinking the lingering haze of sleep out of his eyes, Kyu tried to take a moment just to watch over Ryu.

Of course the moment he moved, even just turning his head, Ryu started suddenly awake. He sat bolt upright and looked around as if expecting an attack.

"It's all right," Kyu whispered, laying one hand on Ryu's arm to get his attention. "It's just me. You could go back to sleep. I would wake you if anything happened."

Still scanning the room for some hidden threat, Ryu slipped away from Kyu's hand and got to his feet. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep at all," he insisted. When he'd satisfied himself that nothing was hiding in the bare room his eyes finally fell on Kyu. He looked Kyu over as if checking for injury, then stiffly held out one hand to help him up.

"We don't have that much time left now. We'll have to escape together."

"Aren't they going to be expecting that now?" Kyu asked as he allowed himself to be helped to his feet and started looking around for his shoes.

"Of course, but we have to try. We'll just have to find the escape route that they aren't watching."

That calmed Kyu's reawakened nerves somewhat. It seemed Ryu already had something in mind.

There were at least two vampires keeping watch on them, so Kyu expected that the door and the window would both be guarded. Unless Ryu knew of a secret passage, or something similar, Kyu wasn't sure how they could get out without a fight.

Eschewing both of the escape routes Kyu had noticed, Ryu led the way into the bathroom. Kyu found himself staring up at a high, narrow vent–presumably meant to let out steam from the bath–that he seriously doubted counted as an escape route. The frame was filled with adjustable metal slats. Even if they could have fit through the frame itself, the slats didn't leave room for even a mouse to squeeze out.

Ryu reached up and calmly began to bend the metal frame with his bare hands. Kyu could only stare as Ryu pried the metal slats out one by one, dropping them carelessly on the floor. This left enough of a hole that Kyu could suddenly see the night sky, with a few stray stars glowing faintly through, advertizing that this might be an escape route after all.

Kyu felt as if he might still be dreaming when Ryu turned and offered his hand. He lay his hand in Ryu's hesitantly, his mind still on what Ryu had just been doing with it.

"Do you think you can get through, or should I try to take out the whole frame?"

"I think I can, but what about you?" Kyu looked Ryu up and down as he said it. Even if he could get out through the new opening, Ryu's shoulders were wider than his.

Smiling, Ryu drew Kyu forward with him as he stepped back under the opened vent.

"Don't worry about me. I'll follow you."

Putting his back flat to the wall, Ryu released Kyu and laced his fingers together to form a stirrup, palms up. Kyu dubiously eyed the step Ryu was making for him.

"What am I supposed to do when I get outside? We're on the second floor."

"You'll be right above the porch roof, and I'll be with you again in a minute." Ryu spread his hands wider, as if silently saying, 'We don't have time to argue about this.'

"Excuse me," Kyu said sheepishly, as he stepped into Ryu's hand.

He found himself boosted up until he could easily grab the bent frame. Ryu gave him just long enough to steady himself and put his head out, then pushed him higher. It took a little determined squirming, but Kyu managed to get his shoulders through the tight space. He grabbed onto the outside wall and set about trying to pull himself the rest of the way out, bracing his foot in Ryu's hand so he wouldn't slip.

Without Ryu's help, Kyu didn't think he would have managed to worm his way through that narrow space. Ryu's hands made a narrow but solid step, giving him something to push against. He tumbled out, falling onto a strip of steep roof not even a meter wide. Kyu clawed at the shingles to keep from rolling off. It felt like he wasted minutes clinging to the roof before he could crawl back to give Ryu room to join him. He had no idea how Ryu was going to get out without someone to boost him up. He was bigger than Kyu, and Kyu had hardly made it through even with help.

When Kyu was able to look up he found Ryu's fingers already curled over the edge of the vent's frame, and the next second he had put his head out. What happened next was difficult for Kyu to see in the dark, but he was strongly reminded of a cat squeezing bonelessly through an opening that should have been too small for it. He had been afraid Ryu wouldn't fit, and yet Ryu's shoulders and chest seemed to compress until he did.

Kyu could only stare as Ryu swung his body out of the narrow vent. He righted himself in midair and landed silently onto the narrow ledge of roof beside Kyu, looking completely unruffled by his own implausible feat.

"Now you follow me," Ryu whispered, before Kyu could ask him how in the world he had done that.

Still nonchalant, Ryu stepped off of the roof and dropped out of sight. Kyu shifted to peer over the edge and found Ryu standing calmly on the ground below. As Kyu stared down at him, Ryu held out his arms, making a silent offer to catch Kyu.

Taking a deep breath to brace himself, Kyu let himself roll off of the roof. For a single dizzying moment he was falling, and wasn't completely sure where Ryu was supposed to be waiting to catch him. Then, with the lightest of landings, he found himself lying sideways in Ryu's arms.

Momentarily disoriented, Kyu clung to his friend and tried to right himself, afraid that if he didn't hang on he would slide right out of Ryu's arms and fall again.

Ryu's grip tightened on him in return. Before Kyu could get back on his feet, Ryu had clasped him close and taken off running. Kyu was left no choice but to keep clinging if he didn't want to risk slipping out of Ryu's arms. Not that he thought Ryu would let him fall, but instinct made it impossible to let go.

They darted into the line of trees behind the house, and everything went dark. What Kyu had taken for a few scattered trees quickly thickened into a proper forest, shutting out the faint moon- and starlight until Kyu could hardly see at all. Ryu didn't slow down, perfectly confident even in the near-complete darkness.

"How did you do that?" Kyu wanted to know, once his heart had calmed down from the sensation of being clasped in Ryu's arms while Ryu sped through the dark.

"I thought you were the one researching vampires. Didn't you come across anything about a supernatural ability to disappear from locked rooms?"

Kyu had seen plenty of tricks for getting into or out of locked rooms, but he had yet to encounter a truly supernatural talent for it. The idea that something like that existed could make their job so much harder. . . and at the same time, even more interesting.

"I thought that was the sort of thing you'd have mentioned by now," Kyu pointed out sulkily. That was important evidence Ryu had been holding back!

"It's not supernatural. I'm just more flexible than you gave me credit for," Ryu soothed.

"But what about-"

"Kyu, hush," Ryu murmured, his voice dropping into a gentle hiss. "I didn't see Malcolm under my window when we went by, so I can't be sure where either of them are right now."

Kyu hushed. He was suddenly quite grateful that Ryu was able to run silently. Or maybe he just couldn't hear Ryu's footfalls over the wind rushing in his ears.

Running through the dark, skirting around obstacles that Kyu didn't even see coming half the time, it was possible for Kyu to believe that Ryu's feet weren't touching the ground at all. Ryu's speed was still dizzying to the point of being exhilarating for Kyu. As they went on and on, until Kyu had no idea how far or for how long they had gone, Kyu felt a bubble of hope growing inside of his chest. Ryu must have recovered. He had his stamina back if he could run so long even while carrying someone.

Just as Kyu was starting to feel truly elated, his fears swept away in the rush of Ryu's speed, they came out of the trees and into an open field. There was a faint light on the horizon, indicating that the night was fading fast.

A more pressing concern for Kyu was the realization that they were not alone. A dark silhouette shot out of the trees a moment after them. It had to be another vampire, but that was all Kyu could be sure of from his position. It was as fast as Ryu, fast enough to keep pace with them.

It was faster than Ryu. Speeding up, flanking Ryu and passing him so that he had to stumble to a stop to keep from crashing into the man who was suddenly standing in front of him.

As Ryu stood, still holding him, Kyu felt the faint bubble of hope inside of his chest burst. Ryu's uncle had managed to outrun Ryu, and was now looking down at both of them, his face twisted into a grimace. Kyu couldn't quite place the emotion behind it, and wasn't sure he wanted to. Added to that, Ryu suddenly seemed in no shape to fight. He was out of breath, trembling, apparently the worse for his run.

Kyu slid out of Ryu's arms. For the span of one heartbeat he found himself closer to Ryu's uncle than he had ever wanted to be again, and then Ryu's arm was in front of him, shoving him back until he was shielded behind Ryu's body once again.

"You are still such a child. Children need to learn to listen to their elders," the older vampire scolded.

"I listen to those who aren't filthy murderers," Ryu answered coldly.

As soon as he'd spat out the last word, Ryu's head snapped to one side. The sound of a slap seemed to hang in the air, echoing in Kyu's ears. Ryu's uncle had struck him across the face, the movement so fast that Kyu had missed it by blinking at the wrong moment.

Kyu realized–far too slowly, it seemed–that Ryu was deliberately drawing his uncle's ire, trying to keep his attention. Right now, Kyu knew he was a liability. Ryu couldn't even dodge without exposing him to danger. So Kyu took a few, slow steps backward, keeping his eyes fixed on the two of them in case his retreat was noticed. If he could get to a safer distance, maybe Ryu could at least defend himself.

His attention drawn instantly to the slight movement, Ryu's uncle looked straight at Kyu, seemed to note his retreat, and almost immediately dismissed it. Apparently the idea of Kyu getting away didn't concern him in the slightest. There was no reason it should, considering his speed.

"Such a shame that my brother would have rather let you run wild then let anyone else have a hand in your education," Ryu's uncle continued, as if there had been no interruption, "Now I have no choice but to teach you the hard way. Otherwise you'll never learn."

Ryu's shoulders were so tense that Kyu's ached just looking at them. He still wasn't fighting back, even when his uncle took him by the chin and forced his face around. Perhaps he didn't like what he saw in Ryu's expression, because he struck Ryu across the cheek a second time. Still Ryu stood his ground.

"If my poor brother cared about you the way I do, you never would have grown up to be such an insolent brat."

"If father was anything like you he would have dissected me when I was born."

Ryu's voice was tight with fury and pain, and it made Kyu feel sick inside. Even as he kept slipping back, away from the two of them, all he wanted was to defend Ryu somehow. Even though he was doing what Ryu had told him to. . . .

That was when it hit him. Kyu distinctly remembered Ryu not just telling him to stay out of the way, but trying to impress the command on his mind, trying to hypnotize him into it. Apparently it had a long term effect, because no matter how much he wanted to go to Ryu's side all he could do was keep stepping back and back towards the forest they had just left. As soon as he thought of disobeying all he could hear was Ryu's voice in his head, coaxing him to be a good boy and stay out of danger.

Kyu hesitated at the edge of the forest they had come through. There was still barely the first hint of dawn in the sky. If he tried to hide himself among the trees, he probably wouldn't be able to see. If Ryu's night vision was anything to go by, they would still be able to find him anyway. If he retreated further would Ryu finally defend himself?

Trying to think around the command Ryu's voice had sent echoing through his head (he really needed to have a word with Ryu about hypnotizing him if they both got out of this in one piece), Kyu stood as if rooted to the ground. He couldn't make himself go back to Ryu, and he refused to keep going until Ryu was out of his sight, even if it meant he was still in dangerous territory. Ryu had never specified how far he expected Kyu to retreat.

Kyu didn't hear anything coming out of the forest behind him, but some sixth sense sent a chill of fear right up his spine. He spun around to find what new danger was behind him, and his first, insane, impression was that he was face-to-face with a bear rearing up on its hind legs to attack him.

Scrambling to one side, Kyu didn't quite manage to get out of reach. His attacker caught him by the arm and threw him to the ground. The little martial arts training he'd had kicked in, and Kyu managed to roll with the throw and scramble up again in the next movement rather than hitting the ground hard.

Just as Kyu was boosting himself to his feet, his attacker grabbed him by the ankle, yanking his leg out from under him. This time Kyu fell gracelessly on his face, but he wasn't about to be beaten by that. He lashed out with his free foot, kicking his attacker in the face and neck as he was dragged closer. The more obvious it seemed that he couldn't hurt Malcolm, the harder Kyu struggled to escape.

Adrenaline cleared Kyu's mind, sweeping panic away until only stark fear remained and reminding him that he was being attacked by a _vampire_ , not a bear. He couldn't panic blindly if he was going to survive. Kyu fumbled for the syringe Ryu had given him. Maybe he could use it to take out Malcolm, or at the very least give himself an advantage.

Kyu's hand closed around the syringe in his pocket just as Malcolm grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Before Kyu could pull out his weapon, Malcolm had lifted him up by his shirt and slammed him back into the ground.

Maybe he had only meant to stun Kyu or knock the fight out of him. All Kyu knew was the sudden pain where his head hit the ground. Instantly, the faint light of dawn seemed to be snuffed out, so that even though Kyu was sure his eyes were still wide open, he couldn't see a thing.

"If you managed to kill him with that stunt, I will have no choice but to punish you for it." The voice came to Kyu from what seemed like a long way away. It might have been the cold, cultured tone that Ryu's uncle always seemed to speak in, but the words faded together until Kyu couldn't make sense of them.

Then all Kyu could hear was something that might have been the wind rushing in his ears, and might have been Ryu screaming his name.

* * *

The first thing Kyu was aware of was the smell of earth and crushed leaves. His brain slowly processed the feeling that he was lying on his side on what felt like hard, uneven ground, which didn't make sense. Hadn't he fallen asleep in Ryu's bed? With that in mind, Kyu expected he should have a completely different set of sensations. Firm mattress, soft pillow, blankets. . . and most important of all, the comforting feeling of Ryu's body curled close to his.

Instead, Kyu was aware that his ankle ached and his back ached and his head ached the worst of all. He lay still with his eyes closed for another minute, mentally surveying his body in an attempt to decide if he had managed to hurt anything else. He half hoped he would suddenly feel Ryu move close to him again, just to know his friend was there.

Ryu didn't appear, so Kyu opened his eyes, intending to look for him. He had to squeeze them shut again almost immediately, finding the midday sun shining right in his face. Kyu raised one hand to shade his face and cracked his eyes open again to get a better idea of his surroundings.

He was lying in the dirt, as he had guessed. There were trees around him, and over him, though they weren't doing much to shade him right now. He could see the tree cover became more dense to one side, and opened up into a sort of field on the other. Sitting at the base of a nearby tree, watching him disinterestedly, was Ryu's uncle.

The sight of him made Kyu's blood run suddenly cold, but it also served to jog his memory of what had happened in the last night and morning. His attempted escape with Ryu. Ryu solidly facing down his uncle's verbal abuse. His own losing battle against Malcolm.

Kyu sat up so quickly that he made himself dizzy, which nearly made him tip right over and fall on his face. Fighting the feeling of lightheadedness, Kyu looked around frantically for Ryu. There was no sign of him that Kyu could see. There was no sign of Malcolm, either, but that was a pitifully small comfort when Ryu's uncle suddenly focused on him.

"Ryu?" Kyu called softly.

He looked around himself again, and again, hoping to see Ryu somewhere nearby. Maybe he had been knocked out as well. He could be lying in the shade, somewhere Kyu had missed in the seconds when his sight went grey with his lightheaded rush. Even as he searched, Kyu knew somewhere in the back of his mind that Ryu was somewhere farther away, somewhere out of sight.

Slowly, reluctantly, Kyu let his eyes be drawn back to the vampire watching him. The expression he turned on Kyu was one of aloof disdain, but at the same time his eyes flicked over Kyu's body, seeming to study him in minute detail. Kyu only hoped he wasn't being sized up as a snack, because that was what it had felt like.

"What did you do with Ryu?" Kyu demanded, because no amount of fear could override the fact that he needed to know where his friend had gone.

"He has been waiting for you."

Ryu's uncle got to his feet, moving with the same boneless grace that Kyu had always admired when he saw it in Ryu. Now that he finally had a chance to study him in the light, Kyu didn't think Ryu and his uncle looked particularly alike. They shared a certain elegance, both in the way they were built and the way they held themselves, but the resemblance did not extend far beyond that.

The older vampire's solid, square jaw and the lines around his mouth seemed best suited to scowling, and pulled even a neutral expression into a frown. His eerily pale eyes were ice-sharp and had the same strange glitter in daylight as Kyu remembered from the night before. Even when Ryu had been at his most antisocial, Kyu could never remember him looking at people as if he meant to cut them down with his gaze alone.

The vampire was wearing a long black coat, the collar turned up to his chin. Kyu hadn't noticed it in the dark the night before. He wondered if Ryu's uncle shared Ryu's habit of covering himself carefully as an extra defense against sunlight.

Moving slowly, just in case suddenly leaping up made him dizzy again, Kyu got to his feet. He was relieved to find that putting weight on his aching ankle didn't present any difficulty. It didn't feel like he'd broken or sprained it in his struggle, so it was possible Malcolm had just bruised it with his rock-hard grip.

The whole time Kyu kept his eyes on Ryu's uncle, watching for the first sign of open hostility. Kyu half expected the vampire to close the distance between them the moment he blinked, to slam him into the ground again or bite him or do some other painful thing.

Kyu was surprised that he had even lived long enough to wake up without Ryu there.

He got another surprise when Ryu's uncle asked him, "Do you intend to keep my nephew waiting?"

"Where is he?" Was this some kind of trap? Kyu wondered, though he knew it wouldn't do him any good to ask if it was.

"Follow me."

Ryu's uncle turned on his heel and walked out from under the cover of the trees. Kyu took a few steps after him and then stopped. He was instinctively suspicions that there was a trap waiting to be sprung somewhere, and unable to be sure where it was or what the point of it was.

"Do not expect me to humor you the way my nephew does." There was a hard note under those words, the sound of patience running thin. Kyu knew he would lose his chance for whatever this was if he hesitated any longer.

Kyu had the feeling that the refusal to 'humor' him was a reference to the fact that Ryu had been carrying him last night. Being swept up in Ryu's arms was fine, but the last thing Kyu wanted was to be so much as touched by this vampire.

He gave in and followed, trotting to keep up. Maybe he was being toyed with, but Kyu couldn't see how any trap he was walking into could be more fatal than trying to run from someone who was that much faster than him through terrain he didn't know. Right now the best thing he could do was to watch and listen and collect information. Besides, if there was even a slight chance that he could meet up with Ryu again, Kyu would take that chance.

The wound on Kyu's hand throbbed. He didn't know if it was the too-close-for-comfort proximity of Ryu's uncle that made the bite start to ache again, or if it was all in his head. It was certainly enough to make Kyu's mind focus on the fact that he had already been bitten once, and the fact that he could very soon be bitten again. . . possibly bitten repeatedly, and possibly bitten fatally and possibly even torn apart and eaten.

Kyu forced himself to take deep, slow breaths, or he thought he might start hyperventilating. He had to focus on what he knew right now. Ryu had said his uncle had a specific pattern, so he probably wouldn't skip to the kill right away. Kyu knew the results of that pattern, he could picture them in his mind, but he didn't know what order the bites would occur in.

Ryu's uncle had started with his left palm. When Kyu pictured the other locations in his head, there were two that made sense as the next target. Either he would switch to Kyu's right palm, or move up to the inside of his left elbow. Kyu still had the syringe Ryu had stolen for him. He could feel it in his pocket, though he didn't dare reach for it until he was ready to use it. In that moment when Ryu's uncle bit him, he would be close enough to hit with it, and it would take him longer, even if it was just a second longer, to retaliate with a lethal bite.

The idea of letting himself be bitten should have terrified Kyu, but it was the best, and possibly the only, chance he had right now. The more he tried to think of it as a problem he needed to solve, the easier it was not to scare himself with it. Left or right, where would he be bitten? Which hand should he have ready to grab the needle and strike back? Kyu couldn't be sure, and he needed very much to be sure. Left or right?

While Kyu was trying to think of some additional clue that would help him solve the problem, Ryu's uncle abruptly stopped. He grabbed Kyu by one arm, yanking him over so that they stood side by side. His left arm again, Kyu noted. Sharp fingernails grazed over the inside of his elbow, leaving faint red lines but not breaking the skin. Not yet, anyway. There was the hint Kyu needed to tell him what would come next, even if it appeared to be happening far too soon.

Kyu kept half of his attention on Ryu's uncle for any threatening advances as he studied the landscape. Now that they had walked out into the middle of the open space, Kyu could see that it was roughly oval in shape. The forest formed a semi-circle around most of the large clearing, broken by a jagged line off to Kyu's right where the land sloped up and became a rocky barrier with a few stubborn trees clinging in among the rocks. He couldn't see Ryu anywhere, and in fact the land around him was flat and bare enough that Kyu was sure he should have been able to.

There was a spot less than a meter away from where they were standing where the earth looked like it had been freshly turned, and rose up in a slight hump. Kyu's first thought was that Ryu had been buried there, alive or dead. The very idea made his stomach give a horrified lurch.

In a few seconds Kyu was able to counter that first thought. What would be the point of bringing him here if that was the case? There had to be a point, or Ryu's uncle wouldn't have bothered. Kyu felt like he had a good view of the plain all around. Standing in the middle of a flat clearing, anyone at the edge of the forest or among the nearby rocks probably had a clear view of them.

If Ryu had gone to ground somewhere nearby, and Kyu couldn't shake the feeling that Ryu had to be nearby, he would have a better view of them than they had of him.

That realization came much too late. Kyu's first instinct was to get away, even knowing logically that he had less chance of escape here than he'd had among the trees. Besides that, Ryu's uncle only responded to his sudden struggles to pull his arm free by hauling him closer, clasping one arm around Kyu and holding him firmly captive.

He knew he wasn't going to get free by strength alone, so Kyu forced himself to be still. He wanted to scream inside. Once again he was nothing but bait for Ryu. Well, why not? It had worked before, after all. Why not repeat a successful strategy?

Kyu refused to let the trick be successful again. Ryu hadn't appeared already, so Kyu guessed that either he had some sort of plan, or at least knew he was being baited. This time Kyu would defend himself. He would not be Ryu's weakness.

"You're not going to use me to find Ryu," Kyu insisted loudly, proud that he sounded more angry than scared. He hoped his voice carried to wherever Ryu was.

"I believe I told you before: I already know exactly where my nephew is. I simply wished to see how much value he thinks something like you really has."

Immediately Kyu was reminded of the bite he had received the night before, and the wound in his palm burned at the memory. Had that been another test for Ryu? If so, it was another hint. Kyu could guess that if Ryu didn't appear for a mere threat, he would receive another preliminary bite. That would be when he had a chance to defend himself.

Kyu slid his right hand slowly into his pocket, trying to steel himself for what he knew had to come next, and what he had to do. Reminding himself it was what he had to do to protect Ryu eased the feeling of tension and terror in his chest. When his fingers closed around the syringe, the gesture made the last of that tension dissipate. This time he would be the one to defend himself, for both of their sakes.

"Ryu's not going to fall for this again," Kyu said, because he was hoping himself that it was true.

In response, the powerful arm keeping him from escaping suddenly shifted, changing its grip around Kyu. It was crushing him against Ryu's uncle, pinning his right arm to his side in the process. At the same time, Kyu felt a rough hand clasp suddenly over his mouth to silence him. Maybe that was a good thing, because Kyu was fairly sure the choked noise of fear he made at having his arm trapped would have reached Ryu otherwise.

"If you're so sure of that, then you should realize you are of no use to me."

Kyu swallowed a whimper of terror. His plan had quite neatly come undone, and now he didn't have any idea what to do. He'd been sure he should wait for that preliminary bite. He'd counted on having at least one arm free. Now the only clear thought in Kyu's head was that if Ryu's uncle went straight for the kill, either Ryu would reveal himself, or he would die. Or perhaps one followed shortly by the other. Neither of those scenarios were acceptable, not after everything he and Ryu had both been through.

So Kyu swallowed his terror, and did the one thing he still could do. He jerked his head up and bit Ryu's uncle before he could be bitten.

Kyu's teeth sunk into the hand covering his mouth until he drew blood. He choked from the sickening-sweet taste of it, but grimly hung on. He wasn't going to die here, and he wasn't going to let anyone use him to hurt Ryu.

"You little bastard!" Ryu's uncle snarled as he tore his hand out of Kyu's mouth.

Kyu found himself suddenly released. He closed his hand around the syringe and turned to meet the vampire who was trying to kill him head-on. Before he could strike out, Kyu found himself struck across the face instead.

The blow across his cheek and jaw was so hard that Kyu nearly reeled off of his feet. It felt more like being hit in the face with a brick than like being punched.

Kyu stumbled, but managed to stay upright. Just as he was finally able to pull the syringe out of his pocket, there were iron-hard fingers wrapping around his throat.

Ryu's uncle had his lips pulled back in a silent snarl, displaying his fangs. The superior, refined expression had disappeared completely, and instead Kyu felt he might as well have been staring down a nightmare made flesh.

The only thought Kyu had time for was that he might die here after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Hands wrapped around Kyu's throat, and he found himself staring down a terrifying snarl. Kyu had just enough time to think that he might be about to die, after planning as if he had a chance to defend himself.

Then the freshly-turned patch of earth they had been standing in front of suddenly exploded upward and outward. Something shot out of it, but Kyu could see little more than a large blur flying towards him. He knew, on some instinctive level, that it had to be Ryu.

In an instant Ryu was between them. He tore his uncle's hands away from Kyu's neck, shoving Kyu out of the way in the process. Kyu stumbled, tipping over his own feet when Ryu pushed him away so that he fell flat on the dirt. To his surprise, Ryu followed, all but collapsing on top of him.

It wasn't until he had Ryu practically laying on top of him that Kyu realized Ryu was wearing nothing but his dog tags.

"Ryu?" Kyu breathed uncertainly.

Ryu's neck and face were flushed red with what Kyu thought for an instant might be embarrassment of all things, until he noticed that Ryu's skin wasn't growing red just there. His shoulders, his chest, his arms, and in fact every inch of him that Kyu could see was either red or quickly reddening. It shouldn't have been possible for Ryu to get a sunburn so fast.

"Oh, Ryu," Ryu's uncle murmured. By all appearances his animal fury was already spent.

He lifted Ryu off of Kyu's chest, giving Kyu an unexpected, unobstructed view. Ryu's skin really was reddening everywhere, the burns looking more severe by the second.

"Why did you have to come out? You knew you would regret it."

"Don't touch me!" Ryu screamed.

Flinging himself out of his uncle's arms, Ryu stumbled, his posture crumpling as if flinching away from the sun overhead. This time Kyu tried to catch Ryu, only to have him cry out and thrash against the contact so that he fell into the dirt.

Ryu's uncle bent down to retrieve Ryu again, apparently ignoring Ryu's attempts to get away. Kyu wasn't about to let his friend be hurt any more. He took advantage of the fact that Ryu's uncle was finally ignoring him to whip out the tranquilizer, his hand clenching around it so tightly it was a wonder he didn't prick himself, and stabbed it into the vampire's outstretched arm.

"You little-" Ryu's uncle hissed at Kyu. He seemed ready to lash out, to retaliate for the insult, but even as he moved to grab Kyu he swayed, unsteady. His eyes rolled suddenly back in his head, and he passed out before he could even finish his angry snarl.

Once he was no longer an immediate threat, Kyu had no more attention to spare for Ryu's uncle. He was more concerned with Ryu, who had bent himself into a fetal position and was now gasping helplessly. Kyu bent over him, alarmed.

Ryu's skin was not only burning red in the sun. It was blistering and blackening right before Kyu's eyes. As Ryu's skin was roasted into brittle char it started to split, to peel back and ooze blood. Kyu tried to shade Ryu's body with his own, but he couldn't cover all of Ryu at once. All he could seem to do was watch as Ryu burnt and bled.

He had to get the sun off of Ryu's sensitive skin. His eyes fell on Ryu's uncle, passed out in the dirt beside then, or at least on his long coat. Kyu lunged for the coat almost before the idea had crystalized in his mind, yanking it open and bodily rolling Ryu's uncle over so that he could pull the coat off of him. His own T-shirt and shorts wouldn't be enough to shade Ryu, but a full body coat would have to help.

Kyu threw the coat over Ryu's burned and bleeding body. He scrambled to cover every inch of Ryu's skin with it, aided by Ryu trying to make as small a target as possible out of his huddled body. He could only hope that the helpless noises of pain that Ryu was making were a delayed reaction to the burns he had already suffered, not a response to being manhandled.

"Hold on, Ryu, just hold on! You're going to be okay now. I'll make sure it's okay. I won't let you get hurt anymore," Kyu knew he was babbling, but he couldn't seem to stop. All he wanted was to make sure those words were true, to make Ryu all better. "You'll see. It's not going to hurt anymore, Ryu. I promise. I _promise_ I won't let you hurt anymore."

Ryu's little insensible cries stopped and he lay still. He was completely covered by the coat, so Kyu could only hope that meant that Ryu's pain had lessened, not that he had passed out or worse from his burns.

"I'm going to get you out of the sun now, okay? I'll find somewhere safe for you."

Using the utmost caution, Kyu rolled Ryu in the coat as best he could before lifting his unresponsive friend into his arms. He took a few minutes to work out how to balance Ryu's body so that the coat couldn't slip off of any part of him. Once he had a good hold on Ryu, Kyu realized that he had no idea where to go.

There was forest all around them, and the trees could provide a good amount of shade, but Kyu wasn't sure that would be enough. If Ryu could burn that quickly, Kyu wasn't about trust that the bits of sunlight that could filter down between the leaves wouldn't make Ryu much worse. He would need to cut Ryu off from sunlight entirely.

With this in mind, Kyu started for the rocky outcropping that made up one 'wall' of their little valley. If he could find some sort of cave among the rocks, that would be the best place to keep Ryu safe.

Ryu was a heavy, limp weight in Kyu's arms. He didn't dare try to shift Ryu into a new position, for fear of exposing some bit of him to the sun again. He could feel Ryu panting for breath, and knew he still had to be alive, but beyond that there was no sign. Kyu tried to reassure him, to tell him they were getting closer and closer to safety, but there was no answer.

Kyu could still see Ryu's burns in his mind's eye. He could hear Ryu's hushed voice in his head, whispering, 'It's deadly,' as he had when Kyu had first mentioned sunlight. Kyu tried to put both thoughts out of his head. It was far too morbid. He didn't care how lethal sunlight was supposed to be. He wasn't going to let Ryu die.

Somehow, they made it to the rocks. By the time he made it to that potential refuge, Kyu's arms felt rubbery from carrying Ryu in the same awkward position. He stared up at the rocks, unable to tell if there was a suitable patch of shade. Now that he was here, Kyu had no idea how he was supposed to climb around and find somewhere to hide while carrying Ryu in his arms. Ryu was too heavy to carry one-handed, even if Kyu had dared to reposition him.

Instead, Kyu walked alongside the rocks, looking for some sort of crevice that was at the right level. He found a narrow crack between two rocks that looked at first like a long shadow, or a trick of the light. At the very least it was shade, and once Kyu realized that the crack was deep enough that the sun couldn't shine inside, he contrived to get Ryu inside. It took several awkward minutes to shift Ryu little by little without removing the coat until they were well in the shade, but Ryu made no noise of protest at his treatment.

The crevice widened and deepened past its mouth, opening into something more like a cave than a mere crack. The ceiling was far too low for Kyu to stand straight once he was inside, but it was long and wide enough for him to lay Ryu down with plenty of room to spare between him and anywhere the sun might shine in. That was enough.

Kyu finally stretched Ryu out on the floor and made him comfortable as best he could. He tried to cradle Ryu in the coat, finding that Ryu would only lay limp, however Kyu put him. He simply lay on his side, breathing in short, open-mouthed pants. As far as Kyu could tell in the dim light, his eyes were half-lidded and glazed and didn't seem to focus on anything. Ryu was entirely unresponsive.

"Ryu," Kyu called softly, leaning over Ryu's face. He couldn't bring himself to touch Ryu's burned skin, only touching him lightly through the folds of the coat. "Does this feel better? What should I do?"

Ryu didn't respond and Kyu pulled back, trying to think. He wasn't sure what he could do for Ryu's burns. Normally his first instinct would have been to get Ryu to a hospital or some kind of doctor, but he didn't think couldn't carry Ryu all the way back into the city without exposing him to the sun again. Even if he could, would a human doctor have any idea what to do for vampire sunburn?

At least Ryu was out of the sun now. How long had he been lying in that hole he had dug for himself, hiding from the sun? He had probably been there half the day, unable to move.

"I'll get you some water," Kyu decided. Ryu had to be dehydrated from laying there in the heat.

Kyu climbed out of their small cave, casting one last glance back at Ryu. He hated to leave Ryu here alone. The first thing he did was to check that Ryu's uncle was still passed out in the field where they had left him. The last thing Kyu wanted was for him to get some chance to catch up to Ryu and hurt him even more while Kyu was out of the way. He'd only need to drag Ryu out into the sun again if he wanted to finish him off.

If he was completely still, Kyu thought he could hear the gurgling sound of running water. He oriented towards that sound and scrambled off, dodging around rocks and half-stumbling over tree roots. He'd expected to have to stop periodically to make sure he was going the right way, the sound was so faint. Instead Kyu came up on his water source so fast that he nearly fell into it.

Clinging to the loose bank to keep from sliding in, Kyu surveyed the stream he had stumbled upon. It was narrow, but deeper than he would have expected. There were trees crowded so close along it, he didn't think he would have found it at all if he hadn't heard it.

Kyu cupped water up in his hands, lapping some experimentally. He couldn't taste anything strange, so he could only hope that it wouldn't make Ryu sick. Giving up on using his hands, Kyu dunked his whole head in the stream to take a long, deep drink. He hadn't realized how thirsty he had been until he started drinking. Ryu must feel even worse in comparison.

Ryu would need water, that much was obvious. Kyu wouldn't risk carrying him out here, even under the trees. He couldn't make Ryu wait for the sun to go down, and carrying water back using nothing more than his cupped hands wouldn't do the trick either.

After taking a few seconds to study the problem at hand, Kyu took off his T-shirt and dunked that in the stream. He rubbed the cloth together, trying to rinse out some of the dirt and sweat it had acquired while he was trying to fight off Malcolm, and later Ryu's uncle.

When Kyu thought his shirt was as clean as it was going to get, he pulled the whole thing out, still sopping wet, and carried it in his arms back to the crevice where he had left Ryu. It dripped so much that the front of his shorts were quickly wet through, but it was still soaked when he finally reached Ryu.

Ryu's eyes had closed, but they cracked open again when Kyu crawled in beside him. He didn't respond to what Kyu had brought him until Kyu squeezed a few drops of water from his shirt onto the corner of Ryu's mouth. As soon as the cool water touched his lips, Ryu reacted. He opened his mouth with a pained gasp, which gave Kyu a target for the next few drops of water.

That was enough to rouse Ryu. He managed to lift his head. Gripping the corner of Kyu's shirt with one hand, he pushed the bit of cloth into his mouth and sucked the water directly out of it.

Kyu helped as best he could, turning his shirt over and over in his hands and presenting new damp sections for Ryu's mouth. Each place Ryu took the shirt into his mouth, he left an imperfect, bloody kiss-mark from his cracked lips.

It was such a relief to have Ryu respond, Kyu tried to ignore the way his lips and the corners of his mouth would split and bleed sluggishly, just from him latching onto the cloth. It was still difficult to watch. Every detail he noticed, even in the dark, only seemed to point to Ryu being in more and more pain. It hurt just to look at what was left of the burned skin of Ryu's face; blackened, blistered, split and scabbed until Kyu wouldn't have recognized him.

Even Ryu's hair. . . Kyu ran his fingers over it as lightly as he could, because it seemed the only part of him that wasn't burnt, bleeding, or both. Even then he had to gently comb through the blood and dirt caked in Ryu's formerly soft hair.

Only Ryu's eyes still seemed to be him, and Kyu focused on them. That was easy, since Ryu's eyes were focused on him in return, with an intensity that made it more difficult to look away. It almost seemed that Ryu's eyes glowed in the faint light.

Kyu had to keep resisting the urge to touch Ryu. He twitched his fingers towards Ryu's face, arresting the movement the last second for fear of hurting his friend. He couldn't stand to cause Ryu any more pain. He turned the gesture into a tugging at the edges of the coat. Ryu's movement had left him lying half on the cloth and half in the ground, and Kyu didn't want to see dirt rubbed into Ryu's wounds.

"Can you get this on? It'll help protect you."

With Kyu holding the sleeves out for him, Ryu managed to get his arms through so that the coat at least wrapped around him properly, protecting him when he lay down again.

"Ryu? What can I do?" Kyu asked, feeling helpless.

"I'll be okay," Ryu whispered, his voice painfully hoarse. "Th-that's how it is," he tried to explain, and somehow he managed to smile for Kyu, using just his eyes, "If something doesn't kill us in one shot, recovery is only a matter of time. I just need. . . ."

"You need your skin to grow back," Kyu pointed out, feeling less than reassured.

Something. . . it couldn't have been Ryu's expression, because Kyu found he couldn't decipher Ryu's expression when his face was like this, but something told Kyu exactly what Ryu had resisted saying.

"You need to eat."

Kyu swallowed hard. He should have thought of this at about the time when he realized that Ryu must be dehydrated. He hadn't gotten the chance to take Ryu out for a real lunch because Tanaka-sensei had taken them out on that case. The only thing Ryu had available for dinner was Kyu himself, and he'd obviously passed up on that. The last 'real' food he'd gotten was the egg Kyu had put into his ramen the night before last, and that couldn't have been enough. . . .

"I'll find you something." Not that Kyu had much of an idea of what or how, but if that was what Ryu needed, Kyu would have to find a way. He turned to go start looking.

"No. Stay here."

Ryu sat up, his fingers catching at Kyu's arm to make him turn around. Kyu was distantly aware that whatever shape the rest of Ryu's body might be in, he had recovered his siren's voice.

"But you need-" Kyu started to protest. He found himself caught in Ryu's eyes, and couldn't seem to finish his thought. That was fine. Ryu knew what he was saying.

"I can wait a little longer. Stay with me."

It was all Kyu could do not to lie down beside Ryu right then and there. He could hear the faint whisper of promised rewards under Ryu's words, something Ryu would give to him if he just came a little closer. Kyu wanted it so much he felt dizzy, without even knowing what he was being tempted with.

"But you need it," Kyu heard himself say. He focused on that, and that alone. What Ryu needed was more important than what Kyu wanted.

"Kyu, stay here with me."

"No," Kyu whispered. The word made it easier to ease his way back to the mouth of the cave, so he repeated it. "No. But I'll come back for you."

Once he'd managed to squirm his way through the crevice, Kyu bolted before Ryu had a chance to call him back. If he heard Ryu's voice again, he wasn't sure he would be able to resist going back to him.

Kyu felt strange, his head still fuzzy from the sound of Ryu's voice. That made it difficult to think about what he needed to do for Ryu. It was equally difficult to think about what Ryu had wanted with him. Even away from the direct influence of Ryu's voice, Kyu still couldn't seem to mind the idea of being seduced by Ryu's hypnotism.

This time, Kyu fell right into the stream. He was so distracted by his own determination to avoid turning around and going right back to Ryu that he didn't even see the stream coming until he was in it.

Kyu thrashed around in a panic before he realized that the stream was too shallow for him to drown in. The water only came up a little above his knees, just enough for Kyu to utterly soak himself by splashing around in it. At least the cold water seemed to shock some sense into him, and shock some of the effects of Ryu's voice out of him. Kyu found he suddenly had a much easier time focusing on the problem at hand.

Ryu had mentioned at one point that he'd hunted for himself. Unfortunately, Kyu was quite aware that he had no idea how to do something like that. He couldn't make Ryu wait until the sun went down and it was safe for him to go out and hunt, either. Especially because Kyu wasn't quite sure Ryu could get up and hunt for himself right now, no matter how he had tried to reassure Kyu that he would be okay.

Ryu enjoyed fish, Kyu remembered, belatedly. Were there fish here? He looked down at the slowly clearing water he was standing in. If there were any fish in this stream, they had all been temporarily scared away by his thrashing.

While giving them a bit of time to come out again, if there were any fish, Kyu tried to remember what little he had learned from his one fishing trip with Kinta. He didn't have anything to use for a line, nor for a lure or hook. Maybe he could dig up something to use as bait, insects or something. The hook would definitely be a problem. . .

Kyu was at the point of considering using his shoelaces as some sort of line when he noticed the first tiny and not-so-tiny fish glinting in the water. There were only a handful, he thought, but they kept darting in and out of the shadows so that it was hard to be sure of their number. As Kyu watched, one fish came close enough to nibble at his leg.

Staring at the inquisitive fish, Kyu tried his best not to move at all. It hadn't occurred to him that they might come to him if he was still enough. If he waited long enough, how big of a fish could he get to approach him?

Kyu waited, feeling the sun scorching down on the back of his neck. Little finger-sized fish flitted in twos and threes before disappearing again, and he considered them, not sure if he should take what little luck he had. There was one larger fish lurking in the dappled shade, maybe waiting for the foolish little fish to finish investigating Kyu and approach it. It looked a little larger than Kyu's hand. Kyu felt like it was taunting him, because it just wouldn't come any closer. Maybe it knew what he had in mind for it.

He was leaving Ryu alone for an awfully long time, Kyu realized. He needed to make a move, either on one big fish or start trying to catch the tiny, bite-sized ones, so he could at least bring Ryu something.

After waiting a few extra seconds, just in case his prey decided to oblige him by coming up to nibble his leg, Kyu pounced. He belatedly realized that fish were infuriatingly slippery creatures, and had Ryu's intended lunch slip right through his hands. Kyu swatted at the fish, overbalancing and falling headlong into the water as he did.

A net might have been a good idea, Kyu realized as he came up, coughing and spluttering and shaking off water. His intended target was probably gone, not that he could tell once he'd muddied up the water again with his thrashing.

When he turned to pull himself out of the water, Kyu couldn't believe his luck. Either his final, futile swat, or the wave he'd made by falling over and splashing around in the stream had swept the fish he'd been after up onto the bank. Before the fish could flop its way back into the stream, Kyu caught it with both hands.

Taking a steadying breath, Kyu mentally went through what Kinta had tried to teach him. He had no idea what kind of fish this was, but not too big and no nasty teeth were enough for him to know what to do next. He slipped a finger in the gasping fish's mouth, braced his thumb at the back of its neck, and pulled the head back until he felt something snap. Just like that, he'd hunted something for Ryu to eat.

Kyu finally pulled himself out of the water, looked up, and suddenly he _really_ couldn't believe his luck. How long had Ryu's uncle been standing there? He hadn't even noticed. Kyu froze, staring up at the angry vampire towering over him. Ryu's uncle was squarely between him and his escape route back to the crevice where he had left Ryu. Was Ryu all right? Had he been found?

"What did you do with my coat?"

Kyu couldn't even seem to find the breath to answer. He's made the mistake of looking into those glittering eyes, and now he felt entirely frozen. He should have guessed that hypnotism ran in Ryu's family. He could feel that voice getting inside his head, and unlike with Ryu it was not a welcome invasion.

"What," Ryu's uncle hissed, stepping up to where Kyu knelt, "did you do with my nephew?"

Unable to flinch away, Kyu found himself hauled to his feet by a painful grip on both shoulders. Sharp fingernails were digging into his skin, but he was having difficulty focusing even on the pain. That voice made a vicious cacophony inside of Kyu's head, shutting out everything else. He couldn't even sort out the command that was being forced on him, the way he normally could with Ryu. Kyu simply felt paralyzed by that voice.

As if struggling away from that voice, his thoughts turned directly to Ryu. Almost unbidden, his mind conjured up his last sight of Ryu as he left the cave. There was a perfectly clear memory of Ryu's eyes, of his voice, of the plea that he had made in more than words.

'Come back to me. Stay with me.'

That command was still rooted in Kyu's head, though he'd managed to fight it. Now it broke through the new command Ryu's uncle was trying to lay over his mind, leaving Kyu clear-headed. He had only one goal now, to get back to Ryu.

Ryu's uncle bore down on Kyu's shoulders, pushing him to his knees again. Kyu didn't even struggle, waiting for that furious face to come close to his.

When Ryu's uncle darted forward, perhaps to bite Kyu, or just to scare him, Kyu struck back with the first thing that came to hand. He hit Ryu's uncle in the face with all his strength, with his hard-won fish.

The tranquilizer seemed to have a long term effect, as it had with Ryu, because Kyu found himself released. He scrambled to his feet and bolted before he could be grabbed again.

Kyu dashed back to the perceived safety of the crevice where he had left Ryu, clutching the dead, battered fish to his chest. He expected to be overtaken and caught at any moment, but he wasn't. Instead, he could hear Ryu's uncle laughing behind him. The noise only made Kyu run faster, until he was stumbling without stopping over everything in his path.

Sliding into the crevice like a baseball runner, Kyu tried to roll over to make sure nothing was coming in after him and scramble back towards Ryu all at the same time. He dropped the fish in his panic, but that was okay. He'd done what he needed to do and made it back to find Ryu in one piece.

Just as Kyu had reassured himself that no new threat was coming from the outside, he found himself tackled and slammed bodily to the floor. Kyu jerked around in shock to find Ryu sitting on top of him. The glint in his eyes was not one Kyu considered 'friendly.'

Belatedly, Kyu realized he could feel something warm and sticky on his chest. He remembered nails digging hard into his shoulder, hard enough to draw blood. Ryu's attention was focused entirely on those wounds, so that he didn't even seem to notice Kyu's useless attempts to squirm out from under him.

Ryu bent his head over Kyu's shoulder, his mouth opening hungrily. No matter how he thrashed, Kyu couldn't seem to knock Ryu off of the course he was intent on. Kyu couldn't seem to make a sound, until he felt something hot and wet slide across his collarbone.

Kyu choked on his own terrified yelp before he realized that Ryu had only licked him. He had been expecting to feel Ryu's fangs slicing into his neck. Once he realized that Ryu wasn't biting him, Kyu was able to breathe again. He could live with having Ryu lick him a little. It didn't even hurt.

"Ryu?" Kyu whispered, wanting to ask if that was all Ryu had wanted. Ryu had gone completely still all of a sudden.

Ryu practically threw himself away from Kyu, scrambling up and off of him so quickly that he hit the low ceiling and had to sit down again. He pushed himself backwards until he was against the far wall of their crevice, his eyes still locked on Kyu.

"Ryu," Kyu started uncertainly, pushing himself into a sitting position and finding that at least Ryu hadn't managed to cause any new injuries by pouncing on him. "It's okay," he whispered, though he wasn't quite sure himself.

"I could have hurt you."

"It's okay," Kyu repeated.

Moving slowly, Kyu crawled closer to Ryu. The last thing he wanted to do was spook Ryu and have him try to escape outside with the sun still up. Ryu only pushed himself back into the wall in his attempt to avoid Kyu's approach.

"Kyu, I could have _killed_ you," Ryu gasped faintly.

"You didn't," Kyu reminded him. Now that Ryu had regained his senses, Kyu felt no more reason to be afraid of him.

Simply telling Ryu he was going to be okay was never going to be enough, Kyu realized. He had to show him somehow. The only thing he could think to do was to grab Ryu by the coat he was wearing, pull him away from the wall, and press their mouths together.

He'd only wanted to prove that he trusted Ryu not to bite him, but Kyu could feel a shudder go through Ryu's whole body as he pressed his mouth to Ryu's. He tasted blood on Ryu's lips. As he relaxed his hold on Ryu and let him fall back, Kyu realized that he'd pressed too hard, and Ryu's abused lips had split and bled under the contact. For a moment, the lingering taste of Ryu's blood on his lips was the only thing that kept Kyu from repeating the gesture. He wanted to touch Ryu, to reassure himself that they were both still alive.

"Everything is going to be okay," Kyu managed to say, "I brought you something to eat. You're going to be fine."

"What?" Ryu whispered, his voice faint and breathless with what Kyu could only guess was confusion.

Kyu had to feel around on the floor to find his fish. It was rather worse for wear after being flung and used as a weapon, but he had managed to bring it this far for Ryu. When he dropped it into Ryu's lap, Ryu only looked between the fish and Kyu. Back and forth, as if he didn't know how to react to Kyu bringing him food.

"You need to eat something. I caught it for you," Kyu had to explain.

Finally Ryu seemed to realize what Kyu was getting at, because he grabbed the fish out of his lap and tore into it. Kyu moved towards the front of their crevice, giving Ryu a little privacy. He could hardly see Ryu eating in the dark, but he still didn't want to see Ryu tearing into the fish like a starved animal.

Kyu watched the crevice for any sign of Ryu's uncle, ignoring the sounds of Ryu eating behind him. It seemed he had gotten away cleanly, because he couldn't see any sign of a vampire sniffing around the crevice in search of them. Maybe he expected Ryu would have finally broken under his hunger and weakness and eaten Kyu.

Even when he could no longer hear anything behind him, Kyu didn't turn around. He was determined to keep watch, to do something to keep Ryu safe. The shadows of nearby trees slowly stretched out across the patch of ground Kyu could see.

After hours that felt more like days, Kyu noticed that the light was fading incrementally. He could hardly tell at first that it wasn't just trick his eyes were playing on him. The sun would be setting now. Soon, it would be safe to take Ryu outside. . . and then what? Where would he find help for Ryu?

Kyu shivered. It was cold in the darkness of their little cave and his shorts and hair were still soaked. He tried to focus on the fading light, tried to think about their next step, tried to calculate how dark it would need to be for Ryu. He tried not to focus on how cold he was starting to feel, now that he wasn't running or fighting for his life.

He didn't hear Ryu approach him from behind, only felt Ryu suddenly drop the coat over his shoulders. Kyu looked around at Ryu in surprise, only to have Ryu slip bonelessly past him and out of their crevice.

In spite of the fact that most of his skin had burned black, Ryu's movements were controlled and confident as he stepped out into the last, faint glow of twilight. He stood perfectly still for a moment, as if testing to be sure the sun was far enough gone not to burn him any further.

Finally he turned back to Kyu and said softly, "This time, you _stay here_. I promise I'll come back for you."

Before Kyu could even open his mouth to protest, Ryu was gone, darting off between the trees.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many, many, _many_ thanks to slr2moons for giving me some beta help on this one. Without that who knows when I would have had it done! It took me nearly two years between chapter 7 and 8, in my typical "fail at fandom right in the middle of exciting fic" way. As always, I truly hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

Kyu hunched down in the coat Ryu had draped over him, waiting. He was a little warmer with the coat, but it was a limited comfort without Ryu there. Night had fallen in earnest while Kyu had waited for his friend to come back.

When he thought about it, Kyu got a sense that Ryu was close by. He imagined he could tell where Ryu was, or at least what direction he was in. The position he imagined kept shifting suddenly, but Ryu never seemed to get too far away. Kyu occupied himself trying to find a logical reason for the feeling that Ryu had been circling him.

At least the feeling that Ryu had to be very close to him right now could be explained. He knew Ryu wouldn't want to put too much distance between them, not now. Ryu wouldn't leave him alone even to get help. Most likely he was hunting. The fish had probably been just enough to last him until nightfall.

The silence was suddenly broken with the sound of a sharp crack, like a branch breaking just outside. Kyu cautiously crept toward the front of the crevice and peered out, trying to see what had made the noise.

Ryu was sitting to one side of the opening. He had been just out of sight until curiosity had prompted Kyu to crawl forward. Kyu didn't have to ask why Ryu was lurking where he couldn't be seen. Ryu was in the middle of eating something that Kyu couldn't identify, not that he particularly wanted to.

As Kyu quickly transferred his attention from Ryu's meal to his face, Ryu turned to look at him, delicately picking pieces of splintered bone out of his mouth. His skin was now mottled black and white in the faint moonlight. Kyu thought it was a trick of the shadows until Ryu brushed one hand self-consciously across his cheek and little flakes that looked almost like ash drifted away, exposing the pale skin underneath.

"Is your skin healing already?" Kyu asked. He wouldn't have guessed Ryu could heal nearly that fast, but Ryu was no longer holding himself as if he was in extreme pain.

"I told you it would only be a matter of time."

Kyu climbed out of the crevice to join Ryu, only to have Ryu turn away from him and curl in on himself. Kyu couldn't be sure if Ryu was cold or simply self-conscious, so he pulled off the coat Ryu had left with him and wrapped it around Ryu. He kept his arms draped over Ryu's shoulders, even once he had the coat situated

"You're going to get cold," he told Ryu. Then, because Ryu gave no sign that the addition of the coat made him feel better, Kyu pressed on, "What's wrong? Am I hurting you?"

"No. It doesn't hurt."

Ryu reached up and scrubbed his face with his hands, making his burned skin fall away. He kept his hands cupped over his face as he spoke, muffling his words so that Kyu had to press closer just to hear him.

"I know it shouldn't be important, but I have to warn you. Kyu, you know my face is probably going to be. . . It's certainly not going to be in a state you could find attractive. Not anymore."

"That doesn't matter," Kyu responded automatically. He hugged Ryu against his chest, holding him tight as he added in a fierce whisper, "I thought you were going to die right in front of me today." He'd felt so much horror at seeing Ryu lying unresponsive and in pain, Kyu hadn't had time to focus on anything but Ryu's injuries. He wouldn't allow himself to care about mere scars.

Slowly, reluctantly, Ryu lowered his hands and allowed Kyu to look. Moonlight washed the color out of his face, making him almost an ethereal ghost in Kyu's eyes. To Kyu's surprise, he found he couldn't see any scars. Maybe they were too subtle to see in the faint light. Maybe he was only seeing what he wanted to see. In any case, Kyu didn't care.

Kyu gently stroked his fingers over Ryu's soft cheek, sighing in relief that he could touch Ryu without hurting him.

"Finish eating and let's get out of here while it's still night, okay?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't find anything more for you." Ryu picked up something from his side and pressed it into Kyu's hands. "We can't take the time to try and cook anything, and this was the only thing I was sure wasn't poisonous."

Kyu turned over the handful of colorless mushrooms Ryu had presented him with. He found it a little ironic that this was what Ryu was sure _wasn't_ poisonous, but his stomach chose that exact moment to loudly remind him that he hadn't eaten all day.

Sitting back-to-back with Ryu as they both ate, Kyu tried not to feel sorry for himself. His mushrooms were dry and tasteless, and only served to remind him of how hungry he was without doing much to fix that. Besides that he was thirsty and tired and there was hardly a part of his body that didn't feel bruised or otherwise abused. Kyu shut down that train of thought. Feeling sorry for himself wouldn't fix anything.

"We should ask Hongou-sensei to get us into some class on surviving in the wilderness."

"He'd just be angry that we weren't better prepared in the first place."

Kyu managed to laugh at that. "You're probably right."

After another minute, Ryu finally straightened up. Kyu looked over to find that nothing remained of his dinner but splinters of bone and scattered tufts of fur. He couldn't help reaching over to touch Ryu's face fondly. At least he knew Ryu had gotten a good meal for once, even if his own stomach was still gurgling protests at him.

Ryu titled his head away from Kyu's hand. He was still tense, Kyu realized. Even when he'd had time to heal and find food. Even when they were going to get out of here, together, safe.

"Why didn't you tell me he attacked you?"

"Who, your uncle?"

"Who else?" Ryu suddenly grabbed Kyu's arm, dragging him closer. "I could smell him on you."

"He wasn't able to hurt me, and I got away. It's not a big deal."

"He let you come back to me because you were bleeding." Ryu's voice was low enough to make the hairs on the back of Kyu's neck stand up. "He thought I would have to kill you. If he knew you were still alive he wouldn't just be circling from a distance right now."

"Oh." Belatedly Kyu remembered how Ryu's uncle had laughed when he fled. He hadn't realized the reason for it at the time.

"You are going to stay close to me."

"I know," Kyu managed.

Even if Ryu's temper hadn't been showing again, demanding and protective above all else, Kyu would have stayed close. He wouldn't bring it up now, but he felt just as protective over Ryu as Ryu was acting towards him.

Though he didn't mention it, Kyu did worry they would run into Ryu's uncle when they went to get one last drink. There was no sign of him. Kyu could hardly see the evidence of their earlier scuffle now that it was dark. Not that Kyu had much time to look around before he found himself scooped up into Ryu's arms once again.

It was becoming a habit to allow himself to be held. Kyu actually found it comforting when Ryu picked him up as if he weighed nothing. At least it meant Ryu felt recovered enough to run.

The wind in his face chilled Kyu and made his eyes sting, and pressing against Ryu for warmth had little effect, because Ryu simply did not give off enough body heat to help. All Kyu could do was keep his arms wrapped around Ryu and endure it.

Kyu glimpsed light through the trees. He might have thought he was seeing things, but he felt Ryu veer off in that direction. In seconds they were out of the forest and along the side of a road Kyu hadn't even realized was there.

Those lights were headlights, Kyu belatedly realized when Ryu finally stopped running for a moment. The driver must have seen them, because the car slowed as it approached them. Kyu tensed in Ryu's arms, not sure if they should be getting ready to fight or flee.

Ryu didn't seem to see the approaching car as a possible danger. Maybe he could see something Kyu couldn't, because he trotted toward it as soon as it came to a stop, still carrying Kyu with him.

"Ryu! Kyu!" the driver called as he climbed out of the car and hurried to meet them. As soon as he shouted, Kyu recognized the voice and realized it was Tanaka-sensei who had found them. It was a good thing he'd shouted, since even when he got out of the car Kyu couldn't really see his face with the glare of the headlights behind him.

Kyu wanted to laugh with relief as Ryu let him down. After Ryu had been so adamant about waiting for Tanaka-sensei that first night, it looked like he was going to be the one to take them back to DDS after all.

The giddy feeling lasted only until he heard Ryu's hard voice behind him. "Kyu, get in the car."

"Both of you get in the car," Tanaka-sensei demanded.

Kyu turned to see what had gotten both of them so upset. There, standing just close enough to be illuminated by the headlights, was Ryu's uncle. He had followed them once again.

"Taki. . . I heard you had become a trained dog for that human detective, but I never expected to see you playing fetch for him," He addressed Tanaka-san directly.

Tanaka-sensei stood his ground, making no sign that he had taken offense at that barbed tone. Instead, he merely said, "I'll thank you to stay away from my students."

Not taking his eyes off of Ryu's uncle for a moment, Kyu grabbed at Ryu's arm to get his attention.

"I think he wants his coat back," he whispered. If that would get him to go away, he could have it. He certainly wasn't getting Ryu back.

As soon as Ryu moved to take off the coat, his uncle's attention focused on him. "No." He held up one hand, as if to hold them back from interrupting him. "Keep it. It would seem to be the only thing I am able to give you."

With that he stepped back, seeming to fade immediately into the shadows. Kyu strained his eyes, trying to stare after him, but he couldn't see a sign of where he'd gotten to.

"Get in the car," Tanaka-sensei repeated.

This time they obeyed, Ryu moving first and hauling Kyu into the backseat with him. Tanaka-sensei quickly followed them, putting the car in gear and taking off before Kyu even had time to buckle his seatbelt. Ryu didn't even try to move to the other side of the seat and put on his own seatbelt. Instead, he stayed practically wrapped around Kyu, leaning his head against Kyu's shoulder.

"Take this." Tanaka-sensei tossed his cell phone back to them, and Ryu caught it before it could land in Kyu's lap. "Call Hongou-san and tell him to meet us at DDS."

Ryu flipped the phone open and offered it to Kyu. Kyu slipped his closer arm around Ryu's shoulders as he took the phone. It didn't matter if Ryu didn't want to talk right now. If he was content to cuddle against Kyu, Kyu wasn't going to make him move.

Kyu scrolled through the contacts in Tanaka-sensei's phone until he came to one labeled 'Hongou.' He selected it and had Hongou-sensei pick up on the first ring with a sharp, "Find anything?"

"Sensei?" Kyu started, not sure how to respond to the abrupt greeting. That tone of voice gave him the feeling that he was in a lot of trouble. "It's Kyu."

"Kyu-kun? Tell me exactly where you are and what's happened. Are you alone? Are you injured?" In spite of his voice suddenly raising in volume, Hongou-sensei didn't sound quite so angry all of a sudden.

"We're okay. Ryu's here with me, and Tanaka-sensei's driving us back right now. He said to meet at DDS. He found us," Kyu added, unnecessarily, as it occurred to him that maybe Tanaka-sensei was the one who was in trouble.

"You can go home, you'll see them tomorrow," Kyu heard Hongou say faintly, as if he was talking to someone there with him. "Is there anything you need?" Hongou asked, his voice directed back into the phone. "Should I call a doctor for you?"

Kyu took the phone away from his mouth for a moment so he could speak to Ryu. "Do you think you need to see a doctor?" he asked softly.

Ryu raised his head long enough to shake it 'no,' then pressed his cheek back into Kyu's shoulder.

"Are you still hungry?"

"I'm fine," Ryu murmured tiredly.

"You can't be embarrassed about that now. I'm starving," Kyu pointed out. "I wouldn't mind if you could eat with me."

Ryu didn't argue with that, though Kyu got a feeling it was only because he was too tired to do so.

"I don't think we need a doctor," Kyu finally said into the phone, "But could you get something that everyone can eat?"

"I'll have something ready when you get here," Hongou-sensei promised. Kyu heard him add in the background, "Are you aware how rude that is, Tooyama-kun?" just before he hung up.

"That was strange," Kyu commented, as he closed the phone. "It sounded like Kinta was there with him."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Your friend is incredibly persistent."

Kyu flipped the phone open again. As long as he had it, there was another call he needed to make.

"What did you tell my mom about what happened?"

"Just that you were called out on a case, and that something was wrong so that we couldn't contact you. Why?"

"I'm calling her."

Kyu put in his home number before Tanaka-sensei had a chance to protest. He was sure his mother would be asleep by now, but he wanted to at least leave her a message. Kyu knew her well enough to know that she was going to be worried, no matter how she had been reassured.

To Kyu's surprise, his mother answered with a soft, "Hello," before the answering machine could kick in.

"Hi, 'Ka-san? Are you okay?" Something about her voice didn't sound quite right, even over the phone. Was she just tired?

"Kyu! Are you all right! Where have you been!"

"I'm fine. No, I said I'm fine," Kyu had to repeat because she kept trying to question him over what he was saying, sounding much more frantic than Hongou-sensei had. "I'll be home tomorrow. I just didn't want you to worry anymore."

There was a slight pause. Finally his mother started again in a slow, tearful voice. "Kyu, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong now." Kyu absentmindedly lifted one hand to brush Ryu's cheek, reassuring himself that he was telling the truth. "Ryu's right here with me, and we're both okay."

Kyu heard his mother sigh. He could picture her expression in his mind, a mix of exasperated and worried and relieved. "You think you're going to get away with not telling me what's going on?"

"We'll tell you when we get home, okay? I promise we're not going to do anything else dangerous tonight, so you don't have to worry about us anymore."

Another sigh, one that Ryu unconsciously mirrored against Kyu's shoulder.

"Ryu's there with you?" she repeated. "You two take care of each other, you hear me?"

"We will," Kyu promised. They always took care of each other. "Try to get some sleep."

"When did you get to be so mature?" Kyu found he was sure he could hear his mother smiling, and that reassured him. "Be safe."

"Goodnight," Kyu said before taking the phone away from his ear and hanging up.

The interrogation he was going to get from Kinta would be nothing compared to what would be coming from his mother once they were face to face. He would have to talk with Ryu about how they were going to explain things, but not right now.

Kyu couldn't reach the front seat with Ryu leaning on him, so he put Tanaka-sensei's phone on the seat beside him. He watched dark trees rushing by outside the window, trying to judge how long it would be before they were back in the city. He couldn't even be sure in the dark that they were on the same road they had taken out when Malcolm had first snatched them.

"Kyu's cold."

Kyu hadn't even realized he'd been shivering until Ryu spoke up for him. He'd thought Ryu was already half asleep, he had been so quiet and still.

"Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

Tanaka-sensei turned on the heater and within a few minutes, Kyu realized just how cold he had been. He hadn't had his mind on the fact that he was feeling cold right down to his bones, and the warmth creeping over him felt wonderful on his skin while making him want to shiver even harder from the stubborn chill inside.

"Ryu's tired," Kyu murmured into Ryu's ear. "You didn't sleep last night, did you?"

Not giving Ryu a chance to protest, Kyu started to stroke Ryu's hair, trying to soothe Ryu the same way Ryu's voice soothed him. It made him feel better to fuss over Ryu, distracting him from the cold and giving him a way to focus on the comforting fact that Ryu was there with him, still in one piece.

"We're safe now. Let yourself sleep."

Ryu must have been more exhausted than Kyu had thought, because he allowed himself to be coaxed into relaxing. He lay down on the seat, allowing his head to be cradled in Kyu's lap. After a few minutes of stroking Ryu's hair and offering senseless reassurances, Kyu thought that Ryu really had fallen asleep.

"How did you know where to look for us?" Kyu asked Tanaka-sensei, speaking softly to keep from disturbing Ryu. "Ryu was really convinced on the first night that you would find us, but how did you know where to look?"

"We didn't know. We tried searching around one of his family's old homes, it's much further up this road, but we only found one of the vampires we suspected from an earlier case. We couldn't find any sign of either of you."

"Malcolm?" Kyu guessed. That would explain why he hadn't been there to help Ryu's uncle hunt them down during the day. "We were there last night. What did you do to him, anyway? You didn't let him go?"

"We successfully arrested him."

"What do you do after you arrest a vampire? You can't send them to a normal prison, can you?" They would bite the other inmates. Kyu hadn't gotten around to considering what they actually did after apprehending a vampire. Did they go on trial as murderers?

"Here we have certain programs, trying to get rid of the taste some vampires develop for human flesh. In most cases, it's more like a sentence of life in prison. Reformation is extremely rare. I'm surprised Amakusa-kun never told you about it. He's volunteered as a participant in a few of those studies, though they've never invented a drug nearly as effective as his self-control.

"I was against the testing, but seeing Amakusa-kun willingly volunteer himself like that. . . I think I never understood how powerful the addiction can be. That was what helped me decide to join these investigations in earnest."

Kyu stroked Ryu's hair absentmindedly, trying to absorb this new information.

"It could be worse. In America the response to catching a vampire killing people is to turn to the death penalty. Even if it wasn't law, there are too many vigilantes that will take matters into their own hands. Even when they have no proof that a vampire they've caught has done anything."

Ryu had been living in America, Kyu remembered. The thought made him feel suddenly, fiercely protective of his friend. Ryu stirred slightly in his lap, as if in response to Kyu's thoughts, and Kyu resumed stroking his hair in an attempt to soothe him again. No one was going to attack Ryu for something he hadn't done. Kyu wouldn't let them.

"But there must be others who are like Ryu, who made the choice not to hurt anyone."

Tanaka-sensei was silent for several minutes, until Kyu thought the conversation must be over. Eventually, however, he spoke again, his voice low and careful.

"I don't know what he's told you, and I can't know what sort of upbringing he's had, but I do know that Ryu's family is not normal. Pluto is one of the most powerful groups of vampire supremacists, and they're not just content with killing people themselves. They encourage people to kill each other, giving them the means to pick each other off in the name of revenge."

Kyu felt as if his heart had stopped. He felt the whisper of Ryu's breath against his knee stop as well, and perhaps time itself had simply frozen for that one terrible moment.

Ryu's family was. . . and Ryu had never told him. Even when he'd thought Ryu was opening up to him, trusting him with the secret parts of his history that he didn't dare share with the rest of the world, Ryu had never said a word about Pluto.

The whole time he had been trying to grasp this new understanding of what Ryu was, Kyu had always been confident that he knew _who_ Ryu was. Ryu was still Ryu, whether human or vampire. How often had Kyu repeated that thought to himself? But what did he know about Ryu if Ryu kept this from him, even after everything else? Couldn't a Pluto agent say, 'I've never killed anyone,' in spite of having helped bring about dozens of deaths? They were never supposed to dirty their hands directly for their clients, after all.

Hadn't Ryu said he wouldn't go back, even if he wasn't killing people directly? The painful tightness in Kyu's chest eased a little, so that he was able to breathe again.

Maybe time really had stopped for that second, because Tanaka-sensei continued as if he hadn't dropped any sort of bombshell on Kyu at all, assuming Kyu must already know. "They don't want much to do with those of us that are content to live normal lives. Even Reiji-"

"Who?" Kyu interrupted.

"You must have met him. He was the one that followed you."

"Ryu's uncle? We were never properly introduced," Kyu realized. He'd only been thinking of him in terms of his relation to Ryu. That wasn't really fair to Ryu, was it? Especially when Kyu kept catching himself thinking of the ways that they weren't alike.

"That's the one. He's. . ." Tanaka-sensei took a deep breath and let it out again, as if steadying himself before continuing. "Some of the things he's been working on, trying to create a more effective immunity to sunlight, could be very beneficial. At the same time, his own reluctance to even interact with vampires outside of his clan, let alone humans, only hinders his own research."

"If you didn't like the idea of drug testing, how can you call what he was doing beneficial? He threw Ryu out in the sun!"

Tanaka-sensei slammed on the brakes, bringing the car screeching to a sudden stop. Kyu had to grab hold of Ryu to keep him from sliding out of his lap. Tanaka-sensei twisted around in his seat and snapped the overhead light on. At the same moment, Ryu's eyes snapped open.

"Why did you say he didn't need a doctor!"

"Because I don't need a doctor," Ryu insisted.

"Ryu, your face," Kyu breathed.

He hadn't gotten a chance to look at Ryu's face in the headlights, but now he had a clear view. Ryu's face was a little dirty but his skin was as flawless as ever, completely unmarked. The part of his chest that was exposed when Tanaka-sensei tried to pull the coat open was the same.

Ryu winced and half-raised one hand self-consciously, holding the coat closed with the other, but Kyu pulled it away again. He couldn't stop staring. Ryu had somehow completely healed himself in only a few hours.

"Where was he burned!" Tanaka-sensei demanded to know.

"Everywhere. Head to toe."

"That's not possible."

"I saw it! He was burned everywhere, and it wasn't just a sunburn! His skin burned black."

"It's not possible," Tanaka-sensei repeated in denial. He reached up and loosened his tie, yanked the collar of his shirt open and uncovered the deep, discolored ridges of a burn scar across his chest and shoulder. "Even if he had enough time to heal a burn, it would look like _this_."

Kyu swallowed hard at the sight of that scar. As he looked from Tanaka-sensei's scar to Ryu's unmarked skin, there was no mistaking the difference.

"It don't know why it didn't leave a mark, but he _was_ burned. I thought he was going to die."

The car had started to roll thanks to Tanaka-sensei's inattention. Luckily they were still halfway out in the middle of nowhere and there was no one immediately nearby to have an accident with. Tanaka-sensei had to turn back to restart the stalled engine and get the car going again. After a few seconds Kyu stretched up to turn the overhead light back off. Much as he wanted to look, to reassure himself, Ryu's obvious discomfort was reason enough to give him a moment of privacy.

"I don't care if you think you're fine, Amakusa-kun. As soon as we get back, I'm going to make sure of that myself."

* * *

It took them so long to get back, Kyu kept expecting Ryu to fall asleep again. He kept letting himself lean against Kyu, his head drooping, seemingly about to slide right into Kyu's lap. Then he would start and snap his head up again. No amount of silent coaxing would make him lie down across Kyu's legs again.

Tanaka-sensei was true to his word. As soon as they got out at DDS he hauled Ryu off, presumably to inspect him for burns. Kyu was left alone with Hongou-sensei, who at least seemed willing to believe that nothing was wrong with Kyu that wouldn't soon mend, and Kinta, who had somehow won the right to be there to meet them.

Hongou-sensei had picked up fried chicken in answer to Kyu's request for, 'something everyone can eat.' Kyu didn't care what it was at this point, as long as it was food. He explained the bare bones of the story between bites of his long overdue dinner. It was surprisingly difficult when he couldn't mention vampires. He guessed Kinta might still not know, and Kyu thought that much was still Ryu's secret to tell, or to keep.

"I'm going to make sure those two have something to eat as well," was all Hongou-sensei said when Kyu fell silent.

The story had been painfully short, and the fact that Hongou-sensei didn't target even one of the gaping holes Kyu knew he had left in his explanation only reenforced Kyu's thought that Kinta had been left in the dark about the vampires.

Kinta made a face at their sensei's retreating back, which made Kyu laugh. The two of them must have been driving each other crazy. Maybe Hongou-sensei had been too irritated and tired out to argue when Kinta demanded to come and meet up with his friends.

"It's not funny," Kinta turned suddenly on Kyu. "I know you two were abducted by vampires, so you can just tell me the rest of it right now!"

"I'm sorry. I thought you didn't know about. . . You wouldn't have believed me if I just started off about vampires, would you?"

"Yeah, well. . . maybe not." Kinta admitted. He put another piece of chicken in Kyu's hands and waited for him to start eating again before he continued.

"When I first figured it out, I really thought Hongou-sensei was mocking me by going along with the suggestion. But that's not important. What did they do to you? What did they do to _Ryu_? They didn't bite him, did they?"

Kyu shook his head to the second question, swallowing before he could answer the first. "I'm fine."

"You're not 'fine!' You look like someone tried to strangle you!" Kinta reached across the table and grabbed Kyu by the shoulders, and it seemed he could barely keep himself from shaking Kyu. "You come in all torn up and bruised and looking like you've been through hell, and everyone is freaking out about _Ryu_? One of them _bit_ him, didn't they! He's going to turn into a vampire now, isn't he?"

"Kinta, look!" Kyu held out his left hand, showing Kinta the scabbed-over puncture wounds from where he had been bitten. "One of them bit me, and I'm not turning into a vampire or anything! Ryu is not going to change."

Kyu neglected to mention that Ryu was already a vampire. He wanted to make sure Kinta had a more accurate idea of what a vampire was before anyone explained that part of the story. Yet he quickly discovered that without being able to point to a specific example of a person Kinta knew, it was hard to explain how subtle the differences between vampire and human were. Kinta was obviously still very much in mind of the horror movie image of vampires living in coffins and only coming out at night to feed on the living.

Before Kyu could make much headway in his explanation, Hongou-sensei returned, followed by Tanaka-sensei. Both of them looked tired and irritated, and Ryu wasn't with them. Kyu felt his heart jump into his throat. He should have stayed to help make sure that Ryu was okay.

"Where is he?" Kyu blurted out.

"Amakusa-kun decided he would rather have a bath than dinner," Tanaka-sensei explained. The irritation and disapproval were obvious in his voice, now Kyu that had learned to read him a little better.

That answer didn't tell him exactly 'where,' but Kyu couldn't sit still any longer. He sprang up and bolted out the door Tanaka-sensei had come in.

Kyu heard Kinta shout at him to wait up, but his brain hardly processed the words, or the fact that for some reason Kinta didn't follow him.

"You shouldn't bully your students."

"Then do _you_ want to explain it to him?"

Ignoring the sound of an argument breaking out behind him, Kyu stopped long enough to look around. They were in a short wing of the main building that was often used as a dormitory for visiting or temporary staff. Kyu heard running water and took off in that direction.

It didn't even occur to Kyu that he might have difficulty finding Ryu. There were only so many lights that were on in this part of the building, and the way to the baths was fairly intuitive. Kyu had burst into the bathroom before he even had time to stop and think about what he was doing.

Of course, once he was inside Kyu felt silly. Ryu didn't have a single mark on him. He was facing away from the door, a towel draped modestly over his lap. The only difference Kyu could see was that Ryu's skin was faintly flushed, as if he'd had a mild sunburn.

For a moment all Kyu could do was stare. He watched Ryu brushing his fingertips over his own skin. The awkward way he arched his hand as he slid his fingertips up his chest and over one shoulder was strangely captivating. It was as if Ryu was trying to confirm that his own body was still there, and at the same time didn't trust his own sense of touch.

Then, obviously aware of Kyu's presence, Ryu turned his face toward the door. One hand came up to cup the back of his neck, though it was no more marked than the rest of his skin. Kyu felt unexpectedly embarrassed by the shy way Ryu looked at him without meeting his eyes. He knew he had been staring, he was still staring, and apparently Ryu had felt it.

"I thought you'd come," Ryu murmured, by way of greeting. That explained the towel, at least, though Kyu couldn't understand why Ryu was choosing now to be discreet about his own body.

"Well, you know me," Kyu grinned, feeling less sheepish simply because Ryu had been expecting him. "Can I join you?"

"Please do." Ryu folded his hands across his knees and dropped his gaze, looking more scared and shy than Kyu could have expected after everything they had been through. "I need to talk to you."

Something was wrong. That much was obvious from the faint tension in Ryu's voice and posture. Kyu hardly took the time to undress before trotting to Ryu's side and kneeling on the tile next to him. He put his hands over Ryu's, trying to think what might be wrong with his friend.

Kyu hadn't bothered with wrapping a towel around his waist. Ryu looked over at him, eyes still downcast, and immediately his cheeks flushed bright red. At least it got him to look up at Kyu's face.

"You're sure you're not hurt anywhere?" Kyu asked.

That was his first concern, that Ryu be whole and unhurt. Kyu reached out and brushed his fingers lightly over Ryu's collarbone and up to his neck, prompting a soft gasp from his friend. Kyu froze at the sound. Ryu looked more like he was in shock than in pain, but Kyu still wasn't sure that was a good thing.

"It doesn't hurt," Ryu reassured him. "I'm just not used to that."

Kyu resumed slowly tracing his fingers down and over Ryu's chest, engrossed in the feeling of smooth skin. He kept expecting to feel hard ridges of scar tissue, but couldn't find the slightest flaw. He could hear Ryu breathing a little harder than usual, and watched his face in concern. Ryu made no sign that he was in pain, and he didn't ask Kyu to stop touching him.

"Did Tanaka-sensei figure out how you healed so quickly?" Kyu asked, because the silence between them was getting strangely heavy. "He's a vampire too, so he should know, right?"

"He told you he was a vampire?"

"He wasn't exactly trying to hide it. I think he assumed you told me." Among other things, things Kyu didn't know how to confront Ryu with. But maybe Ryu would tell him everything now that they were safe. Maybe he had just been waiting for the right moment.

Kyu paused, his palm pressed against Ryu's chest in a spot between his heart and his shoulder. He could accept, on some level, that Ryu might heal back an entire layer of skin with no scarring, but right here. . . Kyu frowned in concentration.

"What else. . ." Ryu started, then took a deep breath, looking down at Kyu's hand. He looked up again and repeated faintly, "What?"

"Was there ever a scar here?" Even as he asked, he knew there hadn't been. He'd seen Ryu's bare chest recently enough to be sure. He didn't need the confusion on Ryu's face to tell him 'no.'

"But you were stabbed here," Kyu pointed out, as if Ryu's smooth skin was arguing with him. "A wound like that should have left a scar. There should be a mark here."

There should have been a scar. According to Tanaka-sensei, and even Ryu himself, Ryu's skin should be all one mass of scar tissue by now. Instead he looked exactly as he always had.

Ryu healed scars away. Kyu kept touching Ryu's unmarked skin, trying to make that idea sink in.

"Kyu," Ryu whispered, sounding faintly out of breath.

He reached out one hand to Kyu's shoulder, but snatched it back before touching him. The gesture made Kyu suddenly aware of the dried blood on his shoulders and chest. He had forgotten that he was still sweaty and dirty, and here he kept touching Ryu's clean skin.

"Sorry," Kyu blurted out.

Kyu quickly took his heads away from Ryu and reached for the soap instead. He had the sudden feeling that he should be clean to touch Ryu, that he couldn't get Ryu's unmarked skin dirty.

"No, I'm sorry," Ryu argued. He reached out again to lay his fingers against Kyu's shoulder, carefully not touching the patches of dried blood. "I shouldn't have tried. . . I should have told you. . ."

"What, to stay away?"

Kyu hurriedly scrubbed his arms and chest, wanting to be able to touch Ryu again to reassure him. Ryu had his head down again, his gaze carefully averted from Kyu's nakedness, his whole posture speaking of guilt.

"It's not just that."

Kyu automatically put one hand over Ryu's, feeling Ryu tense as if to snatch his hand away. Ryu must still be upset over his own loss of control. This must be what he wanted to talk about, Kyu guessed. It was something they needed to talk about, just the two of them, and now they were safe there was no excuse to put it off.

Ryu was staring at Kyu's hand covering his, but at least he was acknowledging some part of Kyu instead of keeping his eyes fixed on the floor. "I never should have gotten close to you. I should have told you everything."

"You know I wouldn't have stayed away no matter how much you warned me."

Kyu hugged Ryu before he could think about it. The feeling of cool, smooth skin pressed against his was perfectly welcome to him, but Ryu made a choked sound in his throat, as if the gentle contact was hurting him.

"Should never have let you trust me," Ryu whispered.

It hurt Kyu to hear Ryu sounding like he was in pain. He instinctively knew this wasn't the time to bring up any more odd questions about vampire healing powers, let alone Pluto. The last thing Kyu wanted to do was pull out something that would sound like an accusation. Instead of asking one of the hundreds of questions nibbling away at the back of his mind, Kyu cast around for anything that might snap Ryu out of his self-inflicted guilt.

All Kyu could think of was the way he had tried to prove his trust to Ryu before. It had worked, hadn't it? Kyu tried to tell himself it wasn't just that he wanted to repeat the gesture without the taste of Ryu's blood in his mouth.

Kyu cupped Ryu's chin with one hand and pushed his face up. Their eyes met for a split second before Ryu closed his, and Kyu was absolutely sure Ryu knew what he planned to do.

Ryu let Kyu touch their mouths together. The clumsy press of lips against lips made him gasp, and Kyu wanted to do the same. He knew kissing Ryu meant more than that he trusted him, and as sure as he was that Ryu would know too, there were some things that had to be explicitly said.

"I trust you because you deserve it," Kyu started, and he couldn't resist the brief brush of a second kiss before continuing. "I don't want to stay away from you, because I like you. I really, really like you. And I like being with you. And if anyone else hurts me for being close to you, that's never your fault."

Ryu was blushing so brightly at this point that he really did look sunburned.

"I don't-" Ryu started to protest.

Kyu cut him off with another kiss. He had never realized that kissing was useful before, but it at least kept Ryu from berating himself out loud. Hopefully it could keep him from beating himself up mentally at the same time, if he was distracted enough.

It took a few minutes for Kyu to realize that he'd blown right past his first kiss. It had just seemed like the right thing to do. To press his mouth to Ryu's was almost as instinctive as touching any other part of him. Somehow, he thought as he studied Ryu's flushed face, it seemed like there should have been more of a production involved. Maybe he should apologize for kissing Ryu so suddenly.

"You can't keep interrupting me just because you don't want-mmpf"

Another kiss kept Ryu from finishing his sentence. This time he was annoyed enough to resist, twisting his head to one side to jerk his mouth away from Kyu's kiss.

" _Kyu_!"

"You could make me stop interrupting if you wanted to."

"That's not right! I can't when you're already hurt all over."

Kyu wanted to laugh. Ryu sounded suddenly like a sulking child when he said it like that. Laughing would probably just hurt his feelings, so Kyu settled for a sheepish smile.

"You're always looking after me, aren't you?" Kyu murmured, somewhere between soothing and apologetic.

"Y-you're confusing the issue. How am I supposed to look out for you if you won't even let me warn you?"

Kyu would have liked to put this off, to give Ryu a chance to calm down. He'd never realized his friend could be quite this stubborn. If Ryu had been the one to suddenly start kissing him, Kyu was sure he would have promptly forgotten anything he intended to say.

"Okay. Warn me, then."

Ryu was silent for a long moment. He kept biting his lower lip in a way that made it very, very difficult for Kyu not to reach out and touch it. Just looking made him want to kiss Ryu again, to the point where it was very difficult to remember that he was waiting patiently for Ryu's warning, or confession, or whatever was coming.

"No matter what I say to you it's not going to keep you away, is it?"

"Pretty much."

Ryu sighed and the fight seemed to go right out of him. For a moment it seemed his hands braced against the floor were barely keeping him from collapsing on the tiles in defeat.

"Shouldn't that be reassuring? You don't want me to stay away from you, right?"

"No," Ryu admitted, "but I want you to be safe."

Kyu leaned in closer, making Ryu start for a second, even though he had moved slowly. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to kiss Ryu's mouth anymore, but he couldn't help giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Ryu, I _really_ like you."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything. It has everything to do with everything," Kyu insisted. It had made sense in his head, but the baffled look Ryu gave him wasn't very encouraging.

"You always wear me down until you get what you want, don't you?" Ryu certainly looked weary, but when he sighed it sounded more of relief than frustration. "And I can't even tell you anything you don't already know."

"Yeah, I'm much too stubborn to leave you alone. But it's okay, right? Right, Ryu?"

Kyu grinned and nuzzled Ryu's cheek playfully, wanting to make him smile and relax a little more. At that moment all he wanted was for Ryu to feel like they could stand together.

Instead of rising to his reassurances, Ryu pulled his knees up to his chin and turned his face away, softly snubbing Kyu.

"Ryu?" Kyu asked again, worried.

"I really like you too. Too much."

For the next hour Ryu stubbornly refused to expand on his last, whispered confession. He went along with Kyu's greedy insistence that they help clean each other up, giving Kyu a chance to bask in the feeling of having Ryu wash his back. He hardly even let out a squeak of protest when Kyu returned the favor and touched the soft, cool skin that was normally never on display.

They both had to give a more detailed report to Tanaka-sensei once Kinta had been convinced to go home. They didn't know what Hongou-sensei had told him, but it was quite clear that he would be expecting a better explanation later.

Kyu did most of the talking while Ryu sat silently, staring down at his hands. He left out the part about Ryu hypnotizing him, talking him to sleep and trying to talk him into staying in the cave, because he really had no idea how to describe that. He also tried to skip past the part where Ryu had pounced on him and licked the blood from his chest, but couldn't help shooting a guilty glance at Ryu when he got to that part.

Tanaka-sensei noticed his guilt immediately and probed for the source, asking Ryu's condition when he had gotten back to the cave. Kyu stumbled over explanations that Ryu was much more energetic than he'd expected, and that he'd had no trouble eating. After several minutes of Kyu squirming under interrogation, Ryu had coolly confessed that he'd jumped on Kyu when he came back with food.

"How did you get in that hole in the ground, anyway?" Kyu finally asked, trying to divert the subject away from Ryu pouncing on him (or at least on the fish he had brought, since Kyu was still trying to act like that was all Ryu had been after).

It should have been a welcome distraction. Neither of them wanted to admit to having tasted the other's blood. Still, the subject change made Ryu look more tense than ever.

"Immolation," Ryu managed to get out. "It was supposed to be, anyway. But after they'd gotten me ready, he sent Malcolm away on some errand, and he told me. . . of course I'd be able to survive, but," Ryu looked up at Kyu, meeting his gaze dead-on, as he hadn't been able to do in the bath, "I would have to give up on you."

Everyone at the table had gone completely still. Tanaka-sensei had his mouth open, but seemed to have forgotten how to speak, and Kyu would be glad if he never had Hongou-sensei's expression of iron-forged fury turned on him. Ryu was plainly holding his breath waiting for Kyu's response. Kyu looked between each of them, waiting for one of them to explain whatever it was that was so horrifying.

"Wait, what?" Kyu finally asked. "What does that have to do with him burying you?"

"He didn't bury me." Ryu put one hand to his forehead, the same gesture of frustration Megu might make when Kyu flubbed up an English word. "Immolation is execution by sunlight. Stripping away all protection and leaving someone for dead.

"You're not supposed to have a chance to hide. I don't know why he let me bury myself. He just left me there, safe." Ryu was looking into Kyu's eyes again, and Kyu slowly realized he was waiting for some kind of judgement. "I wasn't fast enough to reach you, and I wanted to live."

"You're saying that your own uncle stripped you butt-naked, washed off your sunscreen, and left you out in a field to burn to death!" Kyu burst out, horrified. "How could he do that!"

"He gave me a chance to survive," Ryu whispered, in his uncle's defense. "He wasn't supposed to even do that much."

"Some chance! Once you think you're safe he decides to drag me out there and _bait_ you into frying yourself!"

Tanaka-sensei leaned across the table and gripped Ryu's hand, startling both of them into looking at him. Kyu couldn't remember ever seeing such an intense look in his eyes before.

"Amakusa-kun, tell me exactly what happened. Did he help you?"

Ryu paused to think before answering, "He just said I would survive, and then, 'you're smart, you'll figure it out.' He didn't stop me. He probably thought after I'd stayed there half the day I would have given up."

"You know him, sensei?" Kyu asked, though he already knew the answer.

"I would never have wanted to believe he could do that to family." Tanaka-sensei was studying Ryu again, looking him over for injury as he had in the car. Kyu wondered if he didn't believe them just because Ryu's burns had healed.

"He's a heartless bastard! He hits Ryu!"

For some reason Kyu's outburst made both Ryu and Tanaka-sensei laugh, and seemed to break the tense atmosphere between them. Kyu looked from one to the other, confused.

"I would love to see Reiji's face if he heard you say that," Tanaka-sensei chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Kyu demanded.

"I'm sure you're too tired to go over everything again tonight," Hongou-sensei interrupted. He gave Tanaka-sensei a hard look as he stood up, effectively wiping the rare smile off of his face. "We have a room you two can use for tonight."

Ryu took Kyu's hand and pulled him to his feet. It seemed like their interrogation was over for now, but Kyu just couldn't let it go.

"What was funny?" Kyu asked again, while Hongou-sensei was shooing them into the guest room they were supposed to share.

"You called him a 'bastard.'" Ryu was still smiling faintly to himself. "Of all the people to call that. . . It's about the rudest way you could call someone a half-breed. He would be livid."

Kyu wasn't quite sure he understood, but he decided he didn't care. At least Ryu was smiling. Ryu smiling meant a lot right about now.

"Hey Ryu?" Kyu looked back over his shoulder at the closed door. Their teachers were still right outside the door. He could hear them arguing over something. Hongou-sensei sounded more pissed off than usual, but he was keeping his voice low enough that Kyu couldn't make out what he was saying.

He had other things on his mind than their teacher's argument at that moment. Kyu lowered his voice and stood on his toes to speak right into Ryu's ear. "Let's sleep together."

"What?"

There were two beds in the room, and Kyu suspected they were supposed to use both of them, but. . .

"Please?" Kyu rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I won't do anything."

"Shouldn't you be asking me to promise that I won't do anything?"

Kyu sat down on the nearest bed and pulled Ryu along to stand over him, though Ryu stood firm and refused to sit down beside him. That was close enough for a start, Kyu decided.

"Like what? Devour me in my sleep? I thought you said you were full." Everyone had been taking turns pushing the remaining fried chicken on Ryu while Kyu detailed their exploits, so he really should be full by now.

"It's not that."

Kyu waited for Ryu to explain what it was, watching Ryu's fingers trace over the bite mark on his palm. Was Ryu really worried that he would do something? Was he still feeling guilty? Kyu couldn't quite read him, even though Ryu was so obviously focused on him.

"I don't want to let you out of my sight."

"Then we should definitely sleep together," Kyu concluded, "Because I feel exactly the same."

"I don't think it's the same."

"Yes it is. I want to protect you. You want to protect me. It's the same, right?"

Ryu stared at him for so long that Kyu finally had to break the silence with a nervous laugh. It really shouldn't be so complicated that Ryu had to study him like that. It was just that he didn't want to let Ryu go right now, and he had been sure Ryu would feel the same.

Without warning, Ryu pushed him back onto the bed. Kyu landed well enough, his head colliding with the pillow instead of the headboard. He was about to sit up and protest anyway, but Ryu was already climbing onto the bed next to him, one hand braced on Kyu's shoulder to keep him down. He wasn't exactly being rough with Kyu, but Kyu also got the feeling that he was too worn out to be as careful as he usually was.

"You're staying with me?" Ryu asked, his voice so faint that Kyu suspected it was a rhetorical question.

"Of course," he answered anyway. "I said I would!"

Ryu withdrew his hands and tucked both arms against his chest. Even though he was apparently agreeing to sleep next to Kyu, he also seemed to be suddenly making a point not to touch him.

"It's not like there's going to be anything dangerous here," Ryu said.

"That's right," Kyu agreed They were at DDS now. They had to be safe. It was an assumption they both knew might be proven wrong, but both were still in the habit of believing.

They both expected to be safe here, but still. . . the shock and fear of almost losing each other hadn't abated. That much Kyu knew. Kyu was sure Ryu had to be thinking the same way he was. He knew that, for tonight, this was the only way either of them would fall asleep feeling safe.

Kyu put one arm around Ryu, and even though Ryu didn't return the gesture he made no sign that Kyu's touch was unwelcome. It was enough for Kyu to tuck his face against Ryu's chest, anticipating a good night's sleep. He didn't expect anything more.

Just as Kyu was drifting on the grey edge of sleep he felt Ryu's arm drape over his back. It was even more than he'd wanted, and more than enough to send him smiling into his dreams.


	9. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the ending! Or the epilogue, technically. The middle part gave me a lot of trouble, because of course I know exactly what Tanaka-sensei is thinking, but Ryu's a bit of a biased observer. So, is there more to this? Well, yes, technically. There's plenty of stuff I never got around to telling you about the OCs (Reiji in particular. I never got to show his best _or_ his worst sides) and you know there has to be more Ryu/Kyu in the future and I have a vague idea they'll have a dramatic showdown with vampire Pluto someday.
> 
> But for now, this is the end, and I think this is a perfect place to leave things. Thank you to everyone who read along as I took way longer to edit than I should have. I truly hope you have enjoyed, and that you will enjoy this last part as well!

Ryu found it impossible to sleep with Kyu curled up next to him. He was far too aware of the living warmth of Kyu's body curled against his chest, the clean, human smell that he took in with every breath, the faint noises Kyu made even when he was at rest. . .

It wasn't the soft sound of Kyu breathing that kept him awake. He could hear his own voice echoing in his ears still, screaming Kyu's name.

Ryu had thought his friend dead. He'd only seen Kyu being slammed backwards into the ground, but then Kyu just went still. He didn't move or make a sound, and Ryu hadn't even seen his chest shift to breathe. Ryu knew that Malcom's strength was more than enough to snap a spine or crush a skull. He knew Kyu was only human, and all too breakable.

For a single morning he had endured the thought that Kyu was dead because he hadn't protected him. He wasn't even able to protect Kyu's remains at that time. Ryu didn't think the horror of that failure would ever leave him.

All too clearly Ryu remembered the feeling of being embraced by his uncle in that short gasp of time before the sun rose. He couldn't have confused whether his uncle really intended to kill him, even without the direct words uncle Reiji had growled out once Malcolm was no longer there to hear. "You _will_ survive. You're smart. You'll figure it out."

Then, the words Ryu hadn't dared repeat to anyone. "You have to _grow up_ , Ryu. It doesn't matter how smart you are if you won't have some common sense." His uncle had taken him by the shoulders and shaken him once, hard, to punctuate the words. "Do you understand me? That human is not worth your life. No one is worth throwing your life away."

No. Kyu should have been worth his life. Kyu should have been worth so much more, but Ryu hadn't been thinking about that. Ryu had been listening. He had been watching they sky lighten with the impending danger of the sun.

"You are my beloved brother's son, and I will not let you die. Don't you dare forget that."

Even remembering the horror Kyu had shown at the idea of being eaten, Ryu hadn't tried to protect Kyu's body. Even though at that time it would have been only thing he could still do to protect Kyu. Even after he had promised to protect his friend with his life, he hadn't done it.

And he had thought, with horror and hope, what if Kyu was somehow alive? That thought had clawed away at his heart every minute he lay there under the dirt in his own attempt to stay alive. What if Kyu was alive but would be dead before the sun set again?

He could never tell Kyu the full truth about abandoning him. Even though he had hidden too many things from Kyu already, Ryu had no words to confess what he had felt then.

There were already so many things he'd wanted to confess to Kyu. He had wanted to tell Kyu about his connection to Pluto someday, when he could find the courage to explain, but Tanaka-sensei had already revealed that secret. Ryu couldn't understand why Kyu hadn't even asked him about it. Why was he acting as if he still didn't know? He had promised once not to press Ryu for answers that he wasn't ready to give, but that hadn't held up when Kyu was demanding to know what would happen to them last night. Had Kyu decided to let the question wait unless it was a life-or-death situation, or was he letting Ryu prove what a false friend he was for not confessing?

A far more painful and pressing question was: Why was Kyu acting as if he was still trustworthy? He had tasted Kyu's blood. He had been only an instant away from sinking his teeth into Kyu's soft flesh, as if his most precious friend was nothing more than a side dish. That memory frightened Ryu more than the agony of burning with his whole body exposed under the sun.

Maybe he should have tried sooner to distance himself from Kyu, but he knew now it wouldn't work now. Kyu was too stubborn for that, and Ryu didn't want to be separated from him anyway. Instead he held Kyu a little closer just to feel the solid warmth of him. He could feel the slow, steady beat of Kyu's heart when they were this close.

If his own exhaustion wasn't already enough to do him in, the peaceful feeling of Kyu sleeping safely in his arms would have lulled him into sleep. He'd told himself that he meant to move back and simply watch over Kyu from a safe distance once the other boy was asleep, but in his heart he had known that once he put his arm around Kyu there was no letting go.

* * *

Ryu woke all at once when he heard the door open, yanking Kyu's body closer to him with a half-awake instinct that went deeper than the vague nightmares he had been caught in. It took several seconds after seeing Tanaka-sensei standing in the doorway to remember that they weren't still in a place where Kyu would be in immediate danger.

"Amakusa-kun, are you quite sure it's wise to put yourself in that position?"

Disapproval practically dripped from the older vampire's words. Ryu forced himself to release Kyu as he sat up, unable to look his teacher in the face. He knew what the danger was. Kyu's wounds had scabbed over and the smell of blood was no longer fresh, but the temptation was still there.

"I had to be sure he was safe."

That was all the explanation Ryu had, though he knew what Tanaka-sensei had to be thinking. _Is he safe from you?_ Ryu wasn't sure he could prove that, even to himself.

Kyu kept snoring softly, blissfully unaware as Ryu slipped out of bed. He didn't notice Ryu leaving him, not even twitching at the parting touch on his open hand before Ryu moved to the doorway with silent steps to confront the older vampire.

"Did you want something?" Ryu expected to be interrogated further about what had happened. He knew, though he had never discovered the full extent, that there was some sort of history between his uncle and Tanaka-sensei. He suspected that whatever had happened it left a deep resentment between the two of them.

Instead of bringing up his family, Tanaka-sensei surprised him with a different line of questioning, his gaze shifting to where Kyu still slept with one arm flung across the hollow Ryu had left behind.. "Are you sure you are in control of this situation?" he probed. His tone wasn't accusing, yet, but it demanded an answer that Ryu wasn't ready to give.

Ryu couldn't meet his teacher's eyes and he didn't even try to fake it. He'd already learned those types of tricks didn't work on any of the teachers at DDS. They were too observant. He hadn't done anything wrong, or at least not what he was being questioned about. Not himself. Though he was aware he could only think that way because Kyu had initiated it.

That attitude of cold disapproval might have only been a reaction to the danger he might pose to Kyu as a life-long blood addict, but Ryu was all too aware there were other temptations here for him. Everything Ryu had grown up with said the taboo of sleeping with a human was worse than murder, even if all they had done was sleep innocently side-by-side. Tanaka-sensei knew how close they were, and he was right to suspect something more than that, even if nothing had happened.

That first kiss. . . he could call that nothing more than an innocent gesture. Kyu had needed a way to shock him out of his panic before one of them was hurt, or at least more seriously hurt. But then only a few hours ago in the bath Kyu had kept kissing him, not out of any necessity but just for the sake of it.

Ryu knew he wasn't innocent in this either. He had been embarrassed, had known it was wrong, and in spite of that he had kissed Kyu back. With every kiss he had found himself wanting more. He had expected to struggle with the realization, yet it was already laid out clear in his own heart that he loved Kyu.

His family would have disowned him for even thinking it, if they hadn't already. Even Tanaka-sensei, whose closest friends and colleagues were mostly human, would surely be disgusted to know how he wanted Kyu as more than a friend. They weren't even the same species, just close enough to get mixed up with each other like this. Kyu seemed unable to remember that, but it was a fact Ryu had grown up knowing. Even if he told himself it wasn't wrong to love Kyu, it would always be 'wrong' to anyone who could guess at his perversion.

"I know you are concerned for your friend's safety, Amakusa-kun," Tanaka-sensei finally stated to break the silence. "But you should know he and his family will be protected even if you aren't with them."

"I know." Kyu was too obvious of a target right now. He wasn't just in need of protection, but also made a perfect bait to spread their net around for Pluto agents.

"You don't have to stay at your classmate's house. There is more than enough room for you at the dormitory here." Tanaka-sensei paused, not just in response to the way Ryu had suddenly tensed but seemingly to collect himself for what he would say next. "Or, if you prefer, you can stay with me for as long as you need."

Was it just a way to keep him away from Kyu? Ryu got the feeling the older vampire was making the offer for him, not because of Kyu alone. He remembered the comments their teacher had made to Kyu the night before while he was nearly asleep on his friend's knee. What did Tanaka-sensei really think of him?

"I have to at least see him home." He suspected there wasn't a place there for him any longer, but Ryu had to do that much.

Tanaka-sensei reached out to clasp his shoulder for a moment in a grip that would have left deep bruises on Kyu, but to Ryu it felt comforting. "I understand."

How could he possibly understand? Ryu could only stare back at the tiniest hint of a smile that flicked across Tanaka-sensei's set mouth. Usually only Kyu could leave him so lost with a few simple words.

"Look after him, then." With that, Tanaka-sensei left.

With those words humming around his head as he tried to tease out some hidden meaning, Ryu stepped back into the room and let the door fall closed behind him. Kyu had slept peacefully through the whole thing, and didn't wake until Ryu had finished dressing and went back to rouse him.

Ryu's thoughts haunted him more than anything Tanaka-sensei could have said to warn him off getting dangerously close to Kyu. While Kyu was perfectly cheerful after a good sleep, seemingly ready to put the whole thing behind him in spite of his bruises, Ryu felt as if the morning sun only illuminated his own fears.

At least he was able to bring Kyu home in one piece. The bruises marking Kyu's body were bad enough. Ryu could hardly stand the thought of strangers seeing those marks. He wanted to shield Kyu's vulnerable body from prying eyes.

"Kyu, honey, what happened to you?" Were the first words to burst out of Kyu's mother when she opened the door and saw them, and Ryu wasn't surprised. He had simply stepped aside to let Kyu receive the full force of his mother's worry and relief.

"It's nothing. I'm fine!"

"You are not fine, just look at you! What on Earth happened to you!? And didn't you promise me that you would phone _before_ you ran off on one of your cases?"

"But, I wasn't. . . ." Kyu started to protest, but couldn't seem to work out a suitable excuse. Ryu suspected he didn't want to admit just how much danger they had been in, but he doubted Kyu could keep it secret for long.

Ryu was half decided to turn and leave now that Kyu was safely home, but he couldn't seem to put that distance between them. He couldn't stop just looking at Kyu, still caught up in the fact that Kyu was alive. As if Kyu's life was so tenuous that just looking away might cause him to disappear.

Then, Kyu's mother seemed to suddenly realize he was still standing there. She freed one arm to grab Ryu and pull him into her embrace at the same time. Ryu was too startled to resist.

"You're not hurt at all, are you Ryu?" She wanted to know.

"No." Guilt was hammering around inside of Ryu's chest, because only Kyu still bore marks from his mistreatment. "I'm sorry," he burst out. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't-"

"Hush," she scolded.

Kyu's arm was around him as well, pulling him into that unexpected hug until his face was resting against Kyu's mother's shoulder. He could smell the fear and stress on her, so potent that it put his own nerves on edge. He would have kept babbling apologies if not for the gentle noises she was making against his ear to shush him.

"'Ka-san, are you okay?" Kyu asked after another moment. "You can let go now."

Ryu felt as much as heard the deep sigh Kyu's mother answered with. "I couldn't rest until I had my boys home again."

"We weren't trying to make you worry or anything. It was just-"

"I know you were in danger." The tone of her voice, saying more clearly than words that they were loved and safe and at the same time in _so_ much trouble, was like a confused stab of memory to Ryu. He was sure his own mother had sounded like that, once or twice. "And I thought you knew better than to try to lie to me."

"I'm sorry." Ryu's throat was almost too tight to get the words out. There would never be enough words for how sorry he was. She had almost lost her son because of him, and yet she was still including him in her embrace. As if it mattered whether he had come back or not.

"Sorry," Kyu echoed.

"You're home safe. That's the most important thing. Now you are both going to come inside and tell me properly what happened to you."

Ryu felt the soft touch of a hand rubbing up and down his back comfortingly, and he had the impossible feeling that she was talking to him when she said again, "You're home."

Home. Ryu hadn't been _home_ in such a very long time. Yet somehow, with Kyu hanging on his arm to pull him inside, he thought that maybe this was what it would feel like to be home again.


End file.
